San Leandro Night Caps Rules (2026): What You Need to Know

San Leandro's night cap provisions in Municipal Code Chapter 4-28 are designed to ensure that short-term rentals remain an accessory, part-time use of residential properties rather than a de facto commercial hospitality operation. The regulations distinguish between hosted and un-hosted rentals and impose different limits on each.

Un-hosted rentals — defined as short-term rentals in which the property owner or permanent resident is not physically present on the premises during the guest stay — are subject to an annual cap on the total number of nights the property may be rented in a calendar year. This night cap applies to the property itself, not to the operator, meaning that splitting bookings between multiple platforms does not increase the allowable total. The City tracks rental activity through TOT remittance records, platform data-sharing agreements, and complaint-based monitoring.

Hosted rentals, in which the owner or permanent resident is on-site during the guest stay (typically renting a spare bedroom, in-law unit, or ADU while occupying the primary residence), are not subject to the annual night cap. The hosted rental exemption recognizes that owner-present rentals generate fewer neighborhood impacts — the host provides immediate accountability for guest behavior, noise, parking, and trash compliance — and do not remove housing units from the long-term rental market.

Maximum occupancy for all STR properties is determined by the number of bedrooms in the rental unit, generally calculated as two guests per bedroom plus two additional guests, with a maximum overall cap regardless of unit size. Overnight occupancy (guests sleeping on the premises) must not exceed this limit. Daytime gathering limits are not explicitly codified but are subject to the general nuisance provisions of the Municipal Code, including noise, parking, and safety standards.

The minimum stay requirement is one night — same-day or hourly rentals are prohibited. While San Leandro does not impose a multi-night minimum, the combination of the annual night cap for un-hosted rentals and the TOT collection requirement effectively discourages extremely short stays that would generate high turnover and associated neighborhood impacts.

Operators must maintain accurate records of all rental activity, including guest names, dates of stay, number of guests, and TOT collected. These records must be made available to the City upon request for compliance verification. The City conducts periodic audits of permitted STR properties to ensure compliance with the night cap and other permit conditions.