This site aims to provide clear and accurate information about Short Term Rentals in San Bernardino County. This information is to establish a Good Neighbor environment in the Mountain and Desert areas and throughout San Bernardino County. This site’s content is not to be used in any way to harass or intimidate Short Term Rental owners, hosts, or their neighbors. All the information on this site is freely available to the general public. The laws, regulations, and rules outlined here are by the County of San Bernardino, The State of California, and the Short Term Rental platforms of Airbnb, VRBO, and Hipcamp.com. We have collected this information and outlined the proper procedures to address community concerns.
Primary Neighborhood Disturbance Issues and the Regulations Concerning those Issues.
Noise Regulations – If it is loud enough to bother you, It is too loud.
84.28.070 Conditions of Operation.
(g) Responsibilities of Owner to Prevent Nuisance Behavior and Maintain Neighborhood Peace and Quiet. The owner shall take all lawful action necessary to ensure that renters and occupants abide by the terms of this chapter and other applicable provisions of the County Code and law. The owner must inform renters and occupants that they are not to violate any noise standards, parking standards, or otherwise create a public or private nuisance.
(h) Loud and Disturbing Noise.
(1) It is unlawful for any owner, renter, occupant, or guest located at a short-term residential rental unit to make, cause to be made, or allow to be made, either willfully or through failure to exercise control, any loud, excessive, impulsive, or intrusive noise that disturbs the peace or quiet or that causes discomfort or annoyance to any reasonable person of normal sensitivities in the area. Such types of noises or actions causing noises include, but are not limited to, yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling, singing, playing a musical instrument, emitting or transmitting any loud music or noise from any mechanical or electrical sound making or sound amplifying device, and the habitual barking, howling, or crowing of animals.
(2) The standard for enforcement of this subdivision is the “reasonable person” standard. The inquiry is whether the noise would disturb the peace or quiet or cause discomfort or annoyance to a reasonable person under the same or similar circumstances.
(3) Factors that may be considered in determining whether a violation
The proximity of the noise to the residential unit in question;
The time of day or night the noise occurs;
The duration of the noise;
Whether the noise is constant, recurrent, or intermittent; and
Whether the noise is produced by a mechanical or electronic
Parking Regulations – If it is not on the host property, It can be towed away.
84.28.060 Occupancy Standards.
(d) Parking. All vehicles of short-term residential rental unit renters must be parked on the short-term residential rental unit property. No vehicle of renters shall be parked on neighboring properties or within the transportation right-of-way, or in any manner that would create an obstruction. Parking shall be provided on-site at a ratio of not less than one parking space for every four renters. Short-term residential rental properties with occupancy limits of two renters shall be limited to two vehicles.
Parties and Events Regulations – Parties or Events are not permitted.
84.28.070 Conditions of Operation.
(a) Prohibited Uses of Property. A short-term residential rental unit may not be used for any transient occupancy other than the purposes described in the definition of short-term residential rental unit set forth in Section 84.28.030(i), and in conformity with the requirements of this chapter. A short-term residential rental unit shall not be used for any commercial activity, which includes but is not limited to weddings, wedding receptions, corporate retreats, business meetings or conferences, filming photography shoots, a fraternity party, or any other similar gathering, unless regulated under an approved County-issued permit.
Airbnb Parties and Events Policy
Until further notice, all disruptive parties and events are prohibited regardless of size. Guests who hold such events may have their account removed, and hosts who violate this rule and allow guests to throw parties may be subject to account consequences up to and including removal of their listing.
Our Community Standards prohibit members of the Airbnb Community from creating a nuisance that disturbs the surrounding neighborhood. Hosts and guests can live up to this standard by making sure they clearly align on expectations for events at listings. While we believe most guests are respectful, we’ve created our Parties and Events policy to provide clear guidance on what we expect from everyone. Until further notice, the policy prohibits:
- Gatherings of more than 16 people
- All disruptive parties and events
Complaint Response – Hosts must address all complaints within 1 hour.
(f) Call Response.
(1) The short-term residential rental unit owner or agent shall be personally available by telephone on a 24-hour basis and maintain the ability to be physically present at the property within one hour in order to respond and remedy calls or complaints regarding the condition or operation of the unit or the behavior of persons on the property in violation of this chapter or other law.
(2) On a 24-hour basis, within one hour of receiving a call or a complaint, the short-term residential rental unit owner must confirm whether or not the complaint is valid. If the complaint is valid the short-term residential rental unit owner shall immediately take corrective action within the lawful authority of the owner to abate the violation, or to cause the nuisance behavior that disturbs the peace of the neighboring properties to stop, for the entire duration of the occupancy of the person causing or allowing such violation or nuisance behavior. Such corrective action may necessarily include, under certain circumstances, the contacting of law enforcement, County officials, or other appropriate officials for the removal of guests and their vehicles from the property to the extent authorized by law.
(3) Calls or complaints about physical conditions or circumstances that constitute an immediate threat to the public health and safety shall obligate the owner to immediately contact the appropriate law enforcement, fire, or other authority.
(4) Each owner shall keep a written record of the times and type of complaints received, what response was undertaken by the owner, and when such complaints were resolved. This written record shall be made available to the County upon request, and shall be retained by the owner for the term of the short-term residential rental unit permit.
Quick Step by Step
Who To Contact.
If you know your neighbor.
- If you have your neighbors/host contact information, call or email them about the problem.
If you don’t know your neighbor or can’t communicate with them.
- Know the address of the problem house. If you can find your neighbors listing on Airbnb.com or VRBO.com note the listing as well as the address.
- Get evidence. For noise take a cell phone video so the noise can be heard. If time and location can be confirmed, that would be best. Time seen on a watch or phone and the house in the distance is all you need.
- Contact the three agencies below.
- Contact the County to report the problem: Mountain and Desert Region Short Term Residential Rental 24/7 San Bernardino County Complaint Line: 800-205-9417. Even if they don’t take action right away, there will be a record of the complaint. Or submit complaint online at https://sbcounty-str-complaints.deckard.com/ Click “Code Violation” then “Short Term Rental.” Enter your complaint with as much detail as possible. Even if they don’t take action right away, there will be a record of the complaint.
- Contact the Sheriff to have them address the problem: San Bernardino Sheriff Non-Emergency Dispatch: Desert – (760) 956-5001. Even if they don’t come there will be a record of the complaint.
- Contact Airbnb to report the problem and to have them contact the host: Airbnb Neighborhood Support team directly +1 (855) 635-7754. Or submit complaint online at airbnb.com/neighbors. Even if they don’t take action right away, there will be a record of the complaint.
- Contact the County to report the problem: Mountain and Desert Region Short Term Residential Rental 24/7 San Bernardino County Complaint Line: 800-205-9417. Even if they don’t take action right away, there will be a record of the complaint. Or submit complaint online at https://sbcounty-str-complaints.deckard.com/ Click “Code Violation” then “Short Term Rental.” Enter your complaint with as much detail as possible. Even if they don’t take action right away, there will be a record of the complaint.
The long term goal is to have documentation and a record of illegal and un-neighborly conduct by the short-term rental host and guests. Encourage other neighbor that are annoyed to file complaints as well. This will insure that the complaints are not just seen as one angry neighbor.
If you wish you can also let us know about the bad behavior and we will track it as well. Please use the contact form at the bottom of this page. Please note that there will be no action taken by serenitysentry.com based on your submission. This information, if used at all, will only be used to show the impact of STRs to San Bernardino County officials.
Why Report Short-term Rental Issues?
Regulations are put in place so that everyone can get along. If you don’t report the problem to the Host, The County, and the Booking Service (ie AirBnb), nothing will get better. In fact it will get worse. If the host does not know, their home could be wrecked. If the County does not know, they won’t be enforcing the laws. If the Booking Service does not know, they will be getting a bad reputation. Airbnb does not want bad guest behavior or hosts the allow bad guest behavior. By reporting to all three parties, bad guests and bad hosts will be held accountable for allowing bad behavior. The County will be held accountable for its level of enforcement and will therefore enforce the regulations. Airbnb will hold the hosts accountable because they don’t want bad press and additional restrictions. The only way to deal with Bad Short Term Rental Hosts/Owners is to report them and hold them accountable.
Short-term rental hosts are required by law to keep a record of all complaints and what they did to address the issue. Short-term rental hosts are required by law to investigate all complaints within ONE HOUR. By reporting the host to the 24/7 San Bernardino County Complaint Line, the County will now have a record of the complaint. The County can request to see the host’s complaint log at any time. If the host does not record the complaint in their log, they are in violation. By contacting the host through the Airbnb website, Airbnb will also have a record of the issue. They also require that hosts investigate and address complaints within ONE HOUR. Airbnb also offers a Neighborhood Support number, and they will also make sure the host responds to the complaint. With several neighbors file complaints with evidence, every time there is an issue, the offending hosts will lose their license to operate. Fines for operation a Short-term rental can become relatively high. It is not worth investing in a short-term rental property if it costs money and becomes a headache to operate.
Anonymously Noise Complaints
If you have concerns about angering your neighbor, you can skip contacting your neighbor and allow Airbnb and the County to address the issue.
How To Report Short-term Rental Guest Issues
Things you should do before reporting an problem caused by the people staying at the Short-term Rental:
- Proof of the violation goes a long way. Whenever possible, you want to be able to show the actual offense.
- For noise, parties, and events, take a video so that you can hear the noise and see where the noise is coming from and the distance to the sound. If possible, include the date and time.
- For trash or unsafe environment, take a photo, including the date and time if possible.
- For cars parked on the street or any place except for the host’s property, take a photo, including the date and time if possible.
Why Do I Have To Contact Several Places?
By law, short-term Rental hosts/owners must investigate all complaints within an hour of receiving the complaint. Hosts/owners must keep records of these complaints for the San Bernardino County agent to inspect. By contacting the San Bernardino County Complaint Line, you are creating a record of the complaint with the county. Airbnb does not want problems, so they will suspend or ban hosts and guests that get too many complaints. You need to contact them, so they have a record of the complaints. By contacting the host, the county, and Airbnb, you create a solid foundation for long-term corrective action for continuous violators of the law and Airbnb policy.
Who To Contact.
If you have your neighbors/host contact information, call or email them about the problem. If you can’t find any way of contacting the host, you can have Airbnb contact them.
If the noise or disturbance continues, call the Sheriff at their non-emergency number, or if it involves fire or seems like an emergency, call 911.
- Contact Airbnb to report the problem and to have them contact the host: Airbnb Neighborhood Support team directly +1 (855) 635-7754. Or submit complaint online at airbnb.com/neighbors.
- Contact the County to report the problem: Mountain and Desert Region Short Term Residential Rental 24/7 San Bernardino County Complaint Line: 888-399-8591 Or submit complaint online at https://sbcounty-str-complaints.deckard.com/. Click “Request” then “Code Violation” then “Short Term Rental/Camping.”
- Contact the Sheriff to have them address the problem: San Bernardino Sheriff Non-Emergency Dispatch: Desert – (760) 956-5001
How To Report Short-term Rental Owner/Host Issues
For non-short-term rental issues like light pollution, trash or other violations of the San Bernardino County Code the process is different. If you are unable to contact the owner or the owner is unwilling to solve the problem contact Code Enforcement. Take photos or video, which dates and times if possible. You can file a complaint online at Code Enforcement Complaints or call Code Enforcement Monday through Friday, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm: (909) 884-4056 or (760) 995-8140. Report Code Enforcement Violations through their new App: Click here.