It is now legal to rent a house or condo for your weekend or weekly vacation in Pacific Grove, the quaint town on the tip of the Monterey Peninsula.On Wednesday, January 6, the Pacific Grove City Council unanimously approved an ordinance that will permit rentals for less than 30 days, which had previously been illegal.  The City plans to regulate short-term rentals by registering them, issuing a license, and inspecting them for fire safety, including smoke detectors and fire extinguishers.

Property managers and owners who are renting their homes for less than 30-day periods will be required to collect the same ten percent transient occupancy tax as hotels and motels do.  Visitors should not be surprised to see this surcharge added to the cost of renting a home.

You may have rented a home in Pacific Grove for less than a month in the recent past.  City officials acknowledged that they have been aware that it was going on, despite the ban on such rentals.  The City realized, however, that licensing and taxing those rentals could generate some much-needed income to the city.

Property owners may register their homes by contacting the City of Pacific Grove, or Monterey Bay Property Management has a registration service whereby the management company will register a home for a nominal fee.  Property owners who fail to register their rentals face significant financial penalties.  An additional requirement for property owners who live more than 30 minutes from the property is to have a responsible party who can respond to complaints within 30 minutes.  Monterey Bay Property Management will provide an “on-call” agent for any owner who is managing his or her own property, again for a very nominal fee.