Short-term rental permit cost in San Francisco, CA

This city requires the owner to live at the property. If you do not, you do not qualify at any price.

Combined lodging tax: 14.0% of revenue. Charged on what you earn, so it is not in the totals above.

3 figures are not yet verified against the city (STR permit / registration, Business licence, Inspection). They are left out of the total rather than counted as zero, so the real first-year cost is higher than shown.

Conditions attached

• Capped at 90 rented nights a year.
• No citywide cap on the number of certificates was found on the OSTR pages read. Each host may register only the one Residential Unit in which they live at least 275 nights per calendar year.
• Only a Permanent Resident (natural person) who owns or rents the unit may host; must have lived in the unit at least 60 days before applying and plan to live there at least 275 nights per calendar year; 90-night annual cap applies to un-hosted (entire-home) stays only, hosted stays are not capped; no more than five distinct renters at once; must hold a valid Business Registration Certificate from the Treasurer and Tax Collector and renew it annually; must carry liability insurance of at least $500,000 (or platform-provided coverage); quarterly reports to OSTR; certificate lasts two years and must be renewed/reapplied; unit must be free of open enforcement actions; SRO, dormitory, student housing, ADU/JADU and non-residential structures are ineligible; hosts in rent-controlled units cannot earn more per month in STR charges than they pay their landlord; tenants: OSTR notifies the owner of the application; violations carry penalties of at least $484 per day. Non-owner-occupied whole-home investor rentals are not permitted (host must be the Permanent Resident).
• Liability cover of at least $500,000.00 required.

Source: https://sfplanning.org/str/become-certified-host
Checked 2026-09-23 · San Francisco Administrative Code Chapter 41A