What Torrance's Short-Term Rental Ordinance Actually Requires

Published August 10, 2026

Torrance permits short-term rentals, but residential-zone listings must be home shares with the host living on-site. Here is what TMC 92.43 requires, what the city charges, and what happens if you skip the permit.

Short answer: Torrance allows short-term rentals of 30 consecutive days or less, but only with a city permit under Torrance Municipal Code 92.43. In residential zones the host must live on-site, which means home shares only. Non-hosted rentals are allowed in commercial zones. Hosts also need a business license and must remit the city's Uniform Occupancy Tax.

Last verified: August 10, 2026

The rule most owners get wrong

The ordinance came in through Ordinance O-3861 in 2019 and was amended by Ordinance O-3890 in May 2021. It sits in TMC 92.43, inside Article 43, Chapter 2, Division 9 of the code.

The line that catches people is the zoning split. In residential zones, which is most of Torrance including R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-5, R-TH and R-MF, a short-term rental is only allowed as a home share with the host living on the property during the stay. You cannot list the whole house, hand over a lockbox code, and drive off for the weekend. That is a non-hosted rental and it is not permitted in a residential zone.

Non-hosted short-term rentals are allowed in commercial zones, including C-1 through C-5, C-R and R-P, along with the downtown and corridor areas the code names. The Coastal Zone is not carved out of the program.

What counts as a short-term rental

Any rental of a residence, or part of one, inside a legally permitted residential structure for 30 consecutive calendar days or less. Thirty-one days and up is a regular tenancy and this ordinance does not apply. One short-term rental period per residence at a time, so you cannot run two separate bookings in the same house.

Permit, license, and tax

Three separate things. Owners routinely do one and assume they are covered.

The permit

Apply through the Community Development Department. The application fee has been $225, and the city has up to 60 calendar days from filing to issue. Verify the current fee before you write the check, since fee schedules move.

The business license

The host must obtain and maintain a current City of Torrance business license through the Business License Division. This is not automatic with the STR permit.

The Uniform Occupancy Tax

Short-term stays are taxable under TMC Chapter 22, Division 2, the Uniform Occupancy Tax. The published rate is 11% of the listing price including cleaning fees for the first 30 nights of a reservation. Airbnb collects and remits it automatically for bookings on its platform. If you book direct, or through a platform that does not have a collection agreement, that money is yours to collect and remit on the city's schedule.

Operating standards

The requirements that show up in the permit application:

• Liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence.
• One off-street parking space minimum for the rental.
• Multifamily cap: one short-term rental unit per 30 units, with exceptions in the Coastal Overlay.
• Landlord notice: if the host is not the property owner, the host must give the owner 30 days written notice before starting.
• Inspection access at all reasonable times.

That last two points matter to owners more than to hosts. If you own a Torrance rental and your tenant wants to sublet on Airbnb, they are required to notify you in advance, and your lease almost certainly governs whether they can do it at all. Most standard leases prohibit subletting without written consent. Enforce it in writing early.

Penalties for operating without a permit

Under TMC 92.43.090, operating, maintaining, allowing another person to operate or maintain, or failing to cease operation of an unpermitted short-term rental is unlawful and declared a public nuisance. Violators are subject to civil action and criminal prosecution, and the city may abate the nuisance and charge the costs back.

The part that turns a small problem into a large one: each day a violation continues is a new and separate offense. A listing that runs unpermitted through a summer is not one violation. It is a count per day.

For permitted operators who break the standards, the city has used a graduated ladder within a rolling 12-month period: written warning, then $500, then $2,500, then permit revocation with a two-year bar on reapplying.

Complaints about a short-term rental go to the Environmental Division at (310) 618-5929. Planning questions go to (310) 618-5990.

What this means if you own in Torrance

If your property is in a residential zone and you do not live there, short-term renting it is not a compliance project. It is not allowed. The realistic options are a standard long-term tenancy, or a mid-term furnished rental written for 31 days or more, which falls outside 92.43 entirely and outside the occupancy tax.

If you live in the home and want to rent a room, the home share path is open and the paperwork is manageable.

FAQ

Can I rent my whole Torrance house on Airbnb if I get a permit?

Only if the property is in a commercial zone. In residential zones the permit covers home shares with the host on-site, not whole-home non-hosted stays.

Does a 31-day rental need an STR permit?

No. The ordinance defines a short-term rental as 30 consecutive calendar days or less. A 31-day furnished stay is a tenancy, and the Uniform Occupancy Tax stops applying after the first 30 nights.

Airbnb collects the tax for me. Am I done?

No. Airbnb's collection covers the Uniform Occupancy Tax on its own bookings. You still need the STR permit and a current business license, and you still owe the tax on any direct or off-platform bookings.

My tenant is listing my Torrance unit without telling me. What now?

Two problems, yours and theirs. Check your lease for the subletting clause and serve notice. The unpermitted listing itself is a public nuisance under 92.43.090, and the ordinance reaches anyone who allows another person to operate one.

Is there a cap on how many units in my building can do this?

Yes. Roughly one short-term rental per 30 units in a multifamily property, with exceptions inside the Coastal Overlay.

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Schofield Property Management is a licensed property management company serving the South Bay. This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Ordinance requirements, fees, and tax rates change. Confirm current requirements with the City of Torrance Community Development Department and consult a licensed attorney or CPA before acting on anything here.

Topics: Torrance, short-term rentals, ordinances, compliance, South Bay, property management, landlord rules

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