Vacation Home Rentals Ordinance in South Lake Tahoe, CA

There have been a lot of changes with the Vacation Home Rental (VHR) policies in the City of South Lake Tahoe, CA. After a judge threw out Measure T, the ballot initiative that had banned VHRs in the City limits, the City had to rush to come up with a plan. Many thought the judge would just rule against parts of Measure T, but in the end the judge threw the whole thing out.

That was a bit of a surprise to the City and others. This caused them to scramble a bit to get something in place quickly to fill the gap and give guidance to City staff as well as home owners. On June 17, 2025 the City Council adopted an ordinance amending the VHR regulations and provided for an initial application period to be open only to prior VHR and Qualified VHR permittees.

So what are the new rules?

CURRENT ORDINANCE

To read the entire ordinance that was put into place June 17th, 2025 you can review it in the document below.

WHAT ARE THE BASICS?

Here is a short and sweet overview of the current rules stated in the above ordinance document.

• VHR permits are non-transferable.
• You cannot get a new VHR permit on a multifamily dwelling.
• In areas outside the Tourist Core Area, owners are required to have a property manager at all times
• There is a 150 foot buffer zone around all VHR properties located outside the Tourist Core Area, meaning no other VHR permit will be issued to a property within a current permitted properties 150 foot buffer zone which starts at the property line.
• Condos are exempt from the buffer zone requirements.
• Maximum of 150 VHR permits issued by the City per month.
• Properties must be inspected by the City, including new and renewal applications.
• Inspections are not required for properties located in the Tourist Core Area.
• Permits expire after 1 year, and must be renewed on an annual basis prior to the expiration.
• Commercial activity is prohibited. No weddings, receptions and large parties.

WHAT IS REQUIRED ON THE APPLICATION

The vacation home rental application form includes the following required fields:

• Owner(s) name(s)
• Property manager contact information, including local contact number with 24/7 availability for reporting violations
• Square footage of home
• Owner mailing address
• Proposed VHR address and APN
• VHR permit number (if it is already an existing VHR)
• Number of bedrooms
• Number of paved parking spaces on property
• Identification of outdoor hot tub, if any
• Permit number and expiration date of prior VHR permit, if any
• Outdoor hot tub/spa used is not allowed between 10 PM and 8 AM

OCCUPANCY ALLOWANCE

The allowed occupancy for a vacation home rental property is tied to the number of parking spaces and number of bedrooms, whichever is lesser.

Parking spaces must be no less than 9 feet wide and 19 feet long. For homes with one or more bedrooms (not studios) up to five children ages 13 and under do not count toward the maximum occupancy. For studios, up to 2 children aged 13 and under do not count toward the maximum occupancy.

LINKS FOR MORE INFO

For the full City website with this information & links, click here: City of South Lake Tahoe Measure T & VHR Permit Updates

For more information on VHR’s in South Lake Tahoe and the other areas around the Lake, click here: Vacation Home Rental Rules Around Lake Tahoe