Over the last decade, companies have offered homeowners the opportunity to temporarily rent single-family homes, via online bookings websites, for periods as short as one (1) day. This arrangement is sometimes referred to as a short-term rental. This is prohibited in unincorporated Lake County.

What is a “short-term rental”?

A “short-term rental” is defined as the renting of property for a period of less than one (1) month. Short-term rental of single-family homes in residential zoning districts is prohibited in Unincorporated Lake County by the Unified Development Ordinance of the Lake County Code (UDO) and doing so is a violation of the County Code and subject to enforcement action. 

Please note: A short-term rental use is different from the bed and breakfasts use, where the property owner resides on the premises full-time and no more than 50% of the residence is occupied by guests. Please refer to Section 151.113 (H) for more details on B&B’s.

Where is the prohibition found in the County Code?

Use Table

Uses allowed in residential zoning districts (AG, E, RE, RR and R1-R6) are listed in Section 151.111 Use Table of the UDO. Instructions for understanding the Use Table are in Sections 151.11 (A) & (B) The following image shows just a portion of the table.

All of the use categories listed in the table are described more fully in Section 151.270 of the UDO.

What is Household Living?

 Section 151.270 (C)(1) describes Household Living as the following.

Characteristics. Household living is characterized by the residential occupancy of a dwelling unit by a household. Tenancy is arranged on a month-to-month or longer basis. Uses where tenancy may be arranged for a shorter period are not considered residential. They are considered a form of transient lodging (see the retail sales and service and community service categories).

Therefore, the renting/leasing of any residential property in a residential zoning district in Unincorporated Lake County for less than a minimum 30-day period is considered a retail sales and service use and is prohibited in those zoning districts.  Using your property in this manner is a violation of the County Code and subject to enforcement action.

Please Note: The Unified Development Ordinance of the Lake County Code applies only to properties located in Unincorporated Lake County. Properties located in municipalities are subject to municipal regulations which vary between jurisdictions.