Do You Need a Permit to Run an Airbnb in Shasta County?

Do you need a permit to run an Airbnb or short-term rental in Shasta County? Yes. Unincorporated Shasta County requires a Vacation Rental or Hosted Homestay permit under Ordinance 2020-05. Properties inside Redding city limits fall under a separate city ordinance with its own permit types and limits.

I own both a short-term Airbnb and a long-term rental, so this isn't abstract for me. The permitting itself is manageable. What trips people up is assuming the rules are the same countywide — they aren't — and assuming a permit comes with the house when you buy it. It doesn't.

That second point is the one that costs people money, so let's start there.

The Permit Does Not Come With the House

In both Shasta County and the City of Redding, a short-term rental permit is tied to the owner, not the property. Redding's ordinance states plainly that the permit is not transferrable to a subsequent property owner or to another property. Shasta County requires an amended affidavit to be filed and approved before any transfer.

Read that again if you're shopping for a turnkey Airbnb.

That listing advertising "established STR with proven revenue history" is selling you a house and a furniture package. The entitlement that makes the revenue legal does not convey. As the new owner, you apply on your own behalf, and you are subject to whatever the rules are on the day you apply — not the rules that existed when the seller got their permit.

This matters most where the rules have tightened, or where the property was permitted under an earlier version of the code. If the current ordinance wouldn't approve that property today, the revenue history you're underwriting to may not be reproducible. Verify permit status and current eligibility during your contingency period, in writing, with the permitting agency — not with the seller, and not with the listing.

Unincorporated Shasta County: Ordinance 2020-05

The Shasta County Board of Supervisors adopted Ordinance 2020-05 on July 21, 2020, regulating short-term rentals in the unincorporated area. It defines two types, both requiring a permit before you operate.

Vacation Rental — the entire one-family residence is rented for compensation for 30 consecutive calendar days or fewer. The owner does not need to be present.

Hosted Homestay — a room or portion of the dwelling is rented while the owner resides in the residence during the stay.

Hosted Homestays are permitted in all zone districts that allow a one-family residence by right, plus the Mixed Use District, provided all required permits are secured and the use complies with Shasta County Code §17.88.230.

What the county application actually involves

Beyond the base application, two requirements catch people off guard:

Annual renewal. Permits are not permanent. Renewals are required to operate beyond the initial one-year term, and renewal requests and fees must be received no later than the expiration date. Miss the date and you are operating without a permit.

Annual fire inspection. The county requires proof of a fire inspection conducted within one year of application submittal, submitted on the county's Short Term Rental SCFD Fire Inspection Form.

On rural acreage, the fire inspection requirement is where feasibility questions surface — access width, turnaround, water supply, defensible space. These are worth understanding before you're in escrow, not after.

Current forms, the ordinance text, and the fee schedule are posted on the Shasta County Planning Division's short-term rental page. Confirm current fees at the time you apply; they change.

Inside Redding City Limits: A Separate Ordinance

If the property sits inside Redding city limits, county rules don't apply. The City of Redding has its own short-term rental ordinance, codified at Redding Municipal Code §18.43.180, most recently updated in June 2025.

Redding also recognizes two classes, but the definitions and limits differ from the county's in ways that change the investment math.

Hosted Homestay — an owner-occupied dwelling unit, excluding apartments and duplexes, where individual rooms are rented for periods under 30 days. Requires a Hosted Homestay Affidavit. The general requirements include a maximum of two rooms available for rent at any time, occupancy limited to two persons per rented bedroom, and a maximum of 180 rental days per calendar year.

Vacation Rental — an entire dwelling unit, excluding apartments and duplexes, rented for periods under 30 days, owner-occupied or not. Requires a Site Development Permit. Critically: no new vacation rental may be permitted within 600 feet of an existing approved vacation rental.

That 600-foot buffer is a parcel-level question with a binary answer, and it is the single fastest way to find out that the Redding property you're considering cannot be permitted as a vacation rental at all. Contact Redding Planning before you write the offer.

In June 2025, the City Council voted 4–1 to allow vacation rentals in the Downtown Mixed Use District, adopting staff's recommendation and rejecting a Planning Commission proposal that would have capped short-term rentals at 50% of multifamily units per building. The citywide 600-foot buffer still applies where the DMUD abuts single-family zones. Apartment units in Redding's downtown core may be permitted as vacation rentals — an exception to the general exclusion of apartments.

Redding operators also need a city business license and a Transient Occupancy Tax account, and must designate a local contact able to respond within 45 minutes.

Details, forms, and the current ordinance text are on the City of Redding's short-term rental page.

CC&Rs and HOAs override nothing — and stop everything

Redding's own materials put the responsibility on the owner to confirm that a short-term rental doesn't violate subdivision CC&Rs. This is worth stating clearly: a city or county permit is permission from the government. It is not permission from your HOA, your CC&Rs, your lender, or your insurer. Any one of them can prohibit what the county just approved.

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What Happens at Closing

California's documentary transfer tax is set by statute at $0.55 per $500 of value. The rate is fixed; who pays it is negotiated in the purchase contract and is not dictated by state law. Don't assume it falls on either side — confirm it in your contract.

California also requires sellers of most one-to-four-unit residential properties to deliver a Transfer Disclosure Statement under Civil Code §§1102–1102.17. If a property carries STR restrictions — through CC&Rs, HOA rules, zoning conditions, or the status of an existing permit — a seller who knows about them is expected to disclose. As a buyer, read the TDS closely and ask follow-up questions in writing. As a seller of an STR property, full disclosure protects you.

Work your specific numbers through with your escrow officer and your own tax and legal advisors.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a permit to run an Airbnb in Shasta County outside Redding city limits? Yes. Shasta County Ordinance 2020-05 requires a Vacation Rental or Hosted Homestay permit before you accept your first guest. There is no exception for occasional or platform-only rentals. Permits require annual renewal and proof of an annual fire inspection.

If I buy a house that's already a licensed Airbnb, do I inherit the permit? No. In both unincorporated Shasta County and the City of Redding, short-term rental permits do not transfer to a subsequent owner. You apply on your own behalf, under the rules in effect at the time you apply. Verify eligibility during your contingency period rather than relying on the seller's revenue history.

Is there a limit on how many days I can short-term rent a home in Redding? For a Hosted Homestay — an owner-occupied home where you rent rooms — Redding Municipal Code §18.43.180 limits rental to a maximum of 180 days per calendar year, with no more than two rooms rented at a time. Vacation Rentals, where the entire dwelling is rented, are governed by different requirements including a 600-foot buffer from any existing approved vacation rental.

What's the difference between a Vacation Rental and a Hosted Homestay? A Vacation Rental is the entire dwelling, rented for under 30 days, with the owner not required to be present. A Hosted Homestay is a room or portion of an owner-occupied dwelling. Both require permits in both jurisdictions, but the operational conditions attached to each differ — and Redding's definitions and limits are not the same as the county's.

Can my HOA stop me from running a short-term rental even if I have a permit? Yes. A government permit is not permission from your HOA, your CC&Rs, your lender, or your insurer. Review the CC&Rs before you buy — the City of Redding explicitly places that responsibility on the property owner.

Ready to Look at a Specific Property?

That's where the real analysis starts. I work with investors across Shasta and Tehama Counties, from in-town Redding parcels to rural acreage in Shingletown and Palo Cedro.

If you're evaluating an STR purchase, I'll walk you through the jurisdiction question, the permit status, and what the acquisition actually looks like for your situation. My background in rural and acreage properties means I know how to evaluate the well, road access, and fire-safety details that determine whether a country parcel can be permitted at all — details that matter before you write an offer, not after.

Reach out at 530-209-1649 or connect through shastacountyrealtor.com.

About Katie Luther

Katie Luther is a REALTOR® and owner of Good Earth Realty, brokered by eXp Realty of California, serving Shasta and Tehama Counties — Redding, Palo Cedro, Shingletown, Anderson, Cottonwood, Burney, and Red Bluff. She takes a limited number of clients at a time, on purpose: when you call, you get her.

Rural and acreage is her wheelhouse. Well and septic, shared road agreements, ag zoning, defensible space, and horse setups are the details she raises before you write an offer, not after. She also owns both a short-term Airbnb and a long-term rental herself, so she knows STR demand, permitting, and the real numbers from the inside.

Katie is a Leadership Redding graduate serving on the steering committee and a board member of the Shasta County Library Foundation. She has a horse, deep roots in this corner of California, and time for you.

eXp Realty of California, Inc. · 530-209-1649 · CA DRE# 01821668

Equal Housing Opportunity. Katie Luther, REALTOR®, Good Earth Realty, brokered by eXp Realty of California, CA DRE# 01821668. This article is general information only and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Ordinances change — confirm current permit requirements, fees, and tax obligations directly with the Shasta County Planning Division or the City of Redding Development Services Department, and confirm your specific costs with your attorney, tax advisor, lender, or escrow officer.