Last reviewed: 27 July 2026. This is a complete rewrite.
The short version
- You must be a Permanent Resident, which San Francisco defines as living in the unit at least 275 nights per calendar year. That is roughly 75% of the year.
- Absentee owners are ineligible. If you live in San Francisco fewer than 275 nights a year, you cannot host, full stop.
- You can only register the unit you actually live in. Not a second home, not another unit in a building you own.
- Hosted stays have no annual cap. You are present overnight, and you can do that as often as you like.
- Un-hosted stays are capped at 90 nights per calendar year.
- You need two separate registrations, plus a certificate number on every listing.
- Liability insurance of at least $500,000 is required, unless your platform provides it.
- The rules sit in Chapter 41A of the San Francisco Administrative Code.
The 275-night rule
Everything in San Francisco follows from this and it is stricter than most cities' primary residence tests.
To host, you must be a Permanent Resident: you must reside in the unit for at least 275 nights per calendar year. Put the other way, you can be away for a maximum of 90 nights a year.
Three consequences people miss:
It applies to tenants as well as owners. The test is residency, not ownership. A tenant who meets it may be eligible, subject to their lease and landlord.
In a multi-unit building you own, only your own unit qualifies. You may register and rent the specific residential unit in which you reside. You cannot register the others. Individual bedrooms within your own unit may be listed separately.
Un-hosted stays of 30 or more nights count against your residency. If you let the whole place for a month while you are elsewhere, those nights count when the city calculates whether you actually lived there 275 nights.
If you have not yet lived in the unit for a full year, the test is applied proportionally, and reporting indicates you must have occupied it for 60 days before you can register.
Source: SF Planning, FAQs on Short-Term Rentals
At a glance
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Residency requirement | 275 nights per calendar year |
| Can absentee owners host? | No |
| Hosted stays | No annual cap |
| Un-hosted stays | 90 nights per calendar year |
| Registrations needed | Two: business registration and STR certificate |
| Insurance | $500,000 minimum, unless the platform provides it |
| Certificate number on listings? | Yes |
| Reporting | Periodic activity reporting required |
| Appeal window | 30 calendar days |
Hosted versus un-hosted
San Francisco draws this distinction sharply and it determines your ceiling.
Hosted rental: you are home overnight, in the same residential unit as your guests. No limit on the number of hosted nights per year.
Un-hosted rental: you are not home overnight at the same time as your guests. Generally limited to 90 nights per calendar year.
If you offer both, you must create separate listings clearly identifying each stay type, even for the same unit.
Tracking matters here more than people expect. Exceeding the 90-night un-hosted cap is a direct violation of Chapter 41A and can trigger administrative penalties or suspension of your certificate. Because platforms depend on your registration status, enforcement can mean listing removal and interrupted bookings. Night tracking is permit protection, not just admin.
The two registrations
Both are required. One does not substitute for the other.
1. Business Registration Certificate, from the San Francisco Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector. A receipt for a pending application is sufficient to begin the next step.
2. Short-Term Residential Rental Certificate, from the Office of Short-Term Rentals. This is the one that makes you a registered host.
The city is explicit that holding a business registration and remitting hotel taxes does not remove the requirement to register with the Office of Short-Term Rentals.
Your registration number must appear on all listings.
Insurance. You must carry property liability insurance of no less than $500,000, unless you host on a platform that provides that coverage. Airbnb and VRBO are cited as platforms that do. If you host on a platform that does not, you must supply proof.
The application fee is non-refundable, even if the application is denied. Check eligibility carefully before applying.
Source: SF.gov, Guide to opening a short-term residential rental
Ineligible properties
Not every unit qualifies, independently of your residency.
Certain unit types are excluded from short-term rental use. Sleeping quarters in outdoor areas or separate detached structures, including treehouses, boats and vehicles, are not permitted.
Beyond the city's own rules, three private layers can prohibit:
Your lease. San Francisco has strong tenant protections, and subletting or transient use is commonly prohibited. Doing it anyway is a lease violation regardless of your certificate.
Rent-controlled units. These carry additional restrictions and complications.
HOA and building rules. These operate independently of the city.
Reporting, records and appeals
Periodic reporting. Chapter 41A requires periodic reporting of short-term rental activity. Reporting is quarterly in practice.
Records. You must maintain records sufficient to verify compliance with both the primary residence requirement and the 90-night un-hosted limit. That means documented evidence of which nights were hosted, which were un-hosted, and where you were.
Appeals. If your application is rejected, or a certificate is suspended or revoked, you may file a written appeal within 30 calendar days of the notice.
The ineligible host list. Penalties can include placement on the city's list of ineligible hosts, which leads to suspension from hosting platforms. Reporting also cites daily fines for hosting without a permit.
Tax
San Francisco applies Transient Occupancy Tax to short-term rentals. Platforms may collect and remit it, but registration with the Treasurer & Tax Collector is still required, and the obligation ultimately rests with you.
Confirm which taxes your platform handles and which you file yourself, in writing, and take advice from a California accountant on income tax treatment.
A practical checklist
- Honestly assess whether you can meet 275 nights in the unit. If not, stop here
- Confirm the unit is not an excluded type
- Read your lease, and check whether the unit is rent-controlled
- Check HOA or building rules
- Confirm you have occupied the unit long enough to register
- Obtain a Business Registration Certificate from the Treasurer & Tax Collector
- Apply to the Office of Short-Term Rentals for your STR certificate
- Arrange $500,000 liability insurance, or confirm your platform provides it
- Put your certificate number on every listing
- Create separate listings for hosted and un-hosted stays
- Track un-hosted nights against the 90-night cap across all platforms
- Keep records supporting both the 275-night residency and the 90-night cap
- File your periodic activity reports
Verified official sources
Named, not linked
- Chapter 41A, San Francisco Administrative Code, the operative law
- San Francisco Office of Short-Term Rentals, for applications, reporting and the ineligible host list
- San Francisco Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector, for business registration and Transient Occupancy Tax
- Your lease, HOA documents, and any rent control determination affecting the unit
Important disclaimer
This article is not legal, tax or financial advice. It is general information written for a non-specialist reader, by a key management company rather than a law firm.
San Francisco's 275-night residency requirement is the strictest primary residence test in this series and it makes most investment cases impossible. Application fees are non-refundable even on denial. Un-hosted night tracking directly protects your certificate. Your lease, rent control status and building rules can prohibit the activity regardless of city registration, and San Francisco's tenant protections make lease violations consequential.
Verify with the Office of Short-Term Rentals and SF Planning before applying, and read your lease first. For a purchase or a tenancy question, engage a California attorney.
If you spot an error, an omission, or something that needs updating, please tell us and we will fix it.
