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Published July 15, 2026
Redondo bans it, Hermosa caps it at nine permits, Torrance requires you live there. Here is the real map.
Redondo Beach bans short term rentals outright in residential zones, no permit path exists. Hermosa Beach allows only 212 legacy commercial-zone properties to apply, and as of the latest count just nine hold an active permit. Torrance allows only hosted home sharing where the owner lives on site. Manhattan Beach's residential ban does not reach the Coastal Zone, per a 2022 appellate ruling. Gardena caps home sharing permits at 100 citywide.
We get this question from almost every owner who is weighing whether to list a South Bay property on Airbnb or Vrbo instead of signing a standard lease. The honest answer is that the South Bay does not have a regional short-term rental policy. Each city wrote its own ordinance, and they land in very different places. Getting this wrong does not just mean a fine, several of these cities treat an unpermitted short-term rental as a nuisance subject to daily civil penalties.
Redondo Beach prohibits rentals of less than 31 days in residential zones, full stop. The city's own notice states there is no permit, license, or other path to operate a short-term rental legally within city limits, regardless of platform. The city's code enforcement division actively sends violation notices to hosts it finds advertising on Airbnb or Vrbo. If you own a Redondo property and want short-term income, this is simply not an option under current law.
Hermosa Beach runs a Short-Term Vacation Rental pilot program, but it only applies to 212 specific nonconforming residences in the downtown, PCH, and Aviation Boulevard commercial-adjacent areas, not the broader residential grid. City staff have reported that only nine of those 212 eligible properties actually hold a permit, at an annual cost of roughly $1,500. In September 2025 the City Council adopted Ordinance No. ORD-25-1489, which extended the pilot program to October 25, 2027, when it is set to sunset. If your property is not one of the 212 eligible addresses, this path is closed to you regardless of how badly you want in.
Torrance Municipal Code section 92.43 permits short-term rentals in residential zones only as home sharing, meaning the host must live on site during the guest's stay. Whole-home, unhosted rentals in residential Torrance are not permitted. Operators need a short-term rental permit, a business license, and must remit the city's Uniform Occupancy Tax. Operating without a permit is declared a public nuisance under 92.43.090, and the city treats each day of violation as a separate offense.
Manhattan Beach's 2019 short-term rental ordinance left in place a ban on short-term rentals in residential zones, extended liability to tenants and lessees, and added hosting-platform obligations. But on April 6, 2022, California's Second Appellate District ruled in Keen v. City of Manhattan Beach that the city's ban could not be enforced against properties inside the California Coastal Zone, because banning short-term rentals there amounted to a zoning amendment that required California Coastal Commission approval, which the city never sought. The practical effect: if your Manhattan Beach property sits within the Coastal Zone, the residential ban likely does not apply to you. Everywhere else in the city, it does.
Gardena's Chapter 5.76 permits home sharing, meaning renting a room or rooms while the owner lives on site, but prohibits whole-home short-term rentals entirely. The city caps home-sharing permits at 100 for a five-year cycle, with applications accepted January 1 through February 15 every five years and a lottery if demand exceeds supply. A host needs both a Home-Sharing Permit ($1,337 fee) and a separate business license renewed annually, plus $1 million in general liability insurance and a transient occupancy registration certificate.
Before you list a South Bay property short term, confirm which city it sits in and whether that city's ordinance even has an open permit category, several do not, or the category is effectively full. A long-term lease under standard landlord-tenant law is often the more reliable path to income once you weigh permit scarcity, insurance requirements, and daily-nuisance penalties for operating without one.
If you would rather not track five different municipal codes yourself, that is what we do.
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, airbnb, zoning, south bay
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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.
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