Short-Term Rental Rules in the California Desert (Palm Springs & Joshua Tree) (2026)
The California desert STR market spans four regulators: Palm Springs runs one of the strictest city permit systems in the country, Yucca Valley gates the Joshua Tree area's town limits, and the unincorporated land around both — where much of the inventory actually sits — falls to Riverside and San Bernardino counties, each with its own ordinance and caps.
Compare the California Desert jurisdictions
| Permit | Status | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palm Springs, CA | Vacation Rental Registration Certificate | $1,046 | annual | Restricted |
| Yucca Valley, CA | Temporary Short-Term Vacation Rental Permit (TSTVRP) | $973 | — | Permit required |
Short-term rentals (stays of 28 nights or less) are legal in Palm Springs only with a city Vacation Rental Registration Certificate ($1,046 per year as of December 1, 2025, plus a one-time $25 TOT permit), and each owner may hold just one certificate. The biggest restrictions are the annual contract caps — 26 rental contracts per calendar year for post-October 17, 2022 permittees (grandfathered 'existing permittees' keep 32 plus 4 third-quarter contracts after Ordinance 2118 cancelled a planned 2026 reduction) — and a 20% per-neighborhood certificate cap under which new applications are refused in neighborhoods at or above the limit. Rentals are limited to single-family dwellings (prohibited in apartments), and hosts remit 11.5% city TOT plus a 1% TBID monthly. Always confirm current requirements with the city before operating.
Full Palm Springsrules, taxes & sources →Short-term rentals are legal in all zoning districts of the Town of Yucca Valley but require a Temporary Short-Term Vacation Rental (TSTVR) Permit under Ordinance 312 (adopted March 5, 2024), plus a business registration and a transient occupancy tax certificate; the permit fee is $973 every four years and the total initial application package is $1,425. The biggest restriction is a townwide cap: permits may never exceed 10% of the Town's official inventory of detached single-family homes (about 148 openings remained as of April 21, 2026), and only detached single-family dwellings qualify — one permit per parcel. Guests pay a 12% Town transient occupancy tax, which Airbnb collects for hosts but other platforms do not. Always confirm current requirements with the city before operating.
Full Yucca Valleyrules, taxes & sources →Informational only — not legal advice. Boundaries matter in this market: confirm which jurisdiction a specific parcel falls in before relying on any rule here, and verify current requirements with that jurisdiction.