Trusted by property owners and tenants across Southern California. We deliver exceptional property management with a personal touch.
Focused Portfolio
Owner-Operated
Managing the South Bay
Published July 15, 2026
Only owner occupants living in the home 183+ days a year qualify. Renters are excluded, and the 12% TOT still applies.
El Segundo's Short Term Home Sharing Rental (STHSR) permit, created under Ordinance No. 1614, is only available to owners who occupy the home as their primary residence at least 183 days a year. Renters cannot apply. The permit runs $409 to start plus a $207 annual renewal, on top of a $162.60 business license fee, and every stay of 30 days or less still owes the city's 12% transient occupancy tax.
We get calls from owners who assume any El Segundo property can list on Airbnb if they just pay a fee. It cannot. The city's program, adopted under Ordinance 1614 and administered by Community Development, is written around one test: is this your primary home? You must live in the unit at least 183 days per calendar year, which the city treats as the dividing line between a homeowner sharing a spare room or an accessory unit and an investor running a short-term rental business out of a property they do not live in.
That means a landlord who owns a single-family rental in the Smoky Hollow or Park Vista area and wants to list it seasonally on Airbnb or Vrbo, without living there, does not qualify under STHSR. The program is a home sharing pilot, not a general short-term rental license. If your business model depends on whole-home, non-owner-occupied short-term rentals, El Segundo currently does not have a path for that, and this is worth confirming with Community Development before you invest in furnishing a unit for that purpose.
Assuming you qualify as an owner-occupant, the application bundles a few pieces together. You need:
On cost, the city's published fee schedule lists a $409 STHSR permit fee, a $207 annual renewal, and a separate $162.60 business license fee. These amounts adjust periodically, so confirm the current schedule with Community Development before you apply. All STHSR permits expire at the end of the calendar year regardless of when you applied, so a permit issued in October still renews on the same January cycle as one issued in February. Budget for the renewal every year, not just the first-year setup cost.
Even with a valid STHSR permit, every stay of 30 days or less is subject to El Segundo's transient occupancy tax, currently 12% of rent collected. TOT registration, collection, and remittance to the city is a condition of keeping your permit in good standing, not a separate optional step. The city has contracted with HdL Companies to handle TOT filing support, but the legal obligation to register, collect, and remit sits with the host. If a platform like Airbnb is not automatically collecting and remitting TOT on your behalf for El Segundo specifically, you are on the hook to file and pay it directly.
Failing to remit TOT is one of the more common ways hosts lose their permit. The city can revoke a STHSR permit for TOT delinquency, and once revoked, the underlying insurance and residency requirements do not protect you from having to shut the listing down.
If you are an investor-owner who does not live in the property, STHSR is not your permit, full stop, and any short-term listing without one exposes you to code enforcement and TOT penalties. If you do occupy the home, budget for the $409 setup, $162.60 business license, $207 annual renewal, and ongoing 12% TOT collection as the real cost of running a compliant home share, not just the platform's cleaning fee and nightly rate. Keep your residency proof and insurance certificate current, since the city can and does ask for renewal documentation each year.
If you would rather not track permit renewals and TOT filings yourself, that is exactly the kind of ongoing compliance work we handle for South Bay owners.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Confirm with a licensed professional before you act.
Last verified: July 2026.
Topics: compliance, short-term rental, el segundo, TOT, home sharing ordinance
Back to the Schofield Properties blog
Schofield Properties is a family run property management company at 323 Richmond St, El Segundo, CA 90245. We have managed the South Bay since 1972 and personally oversee about 186 doors today. Book a call to talk about your property.
_1771595201102_optimized-600-hSjj9YMN.webp)
_1771595201094_optimized-DUHa1RXZ.webp)