The General Rule
Short-term rental restrictions have become one of the most litigated HOA issues. If your CC&Rs define 'residential purposes only' or include minimum lease terms (often 30, 60, or 90 days), Airbnb and VRBO rentals are likely prohibited. Some HOAs have amended CC&Rs specifically to ban STRs. Courts generally uphold these restrictions when properly adopted and consistently enforced. Key distinction: deed restrictions (in the CC&Rs) are harder to challenge than board-adopted rules. Deed restrictions bind future owners; board rules can be changed more easily.
California-Specific Rules
California does not have a blanket preemption of HOA rental restrictions. HOAs can ban STRs in their CC&Rs. Some California municipalities including LA and San Francisco have their own STR regulations that interact with HOA rules.
Why Your CC&Rs May Be Different
State law sets the minimum floor — but your community's CC&Rs, bylaws, and board-adopted rules may be stricter, may include exceptions, or may have been amended recently. The only way to know exactly what applies to your community is to read your specific governing documents.
Most CC&Rs are 40–120 pages of dense legal language. Finding the exact section that answers your question can take 20–30 minutes — if you can find it at all.
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