Mill Valley, California
When deciding whether to become an Airbnb host, it is important for you to understand the laws in your city or county. As a platform and marketplace we do not provide legal advice, but we want to give you some useful links that may help you better understand laws and regulations in Mill Valley. This list is not exhaustive, but it should give you a good start in understanding your local laws. If you have questions, contact the Mill Valley Planning Department, the City Manager’s Office, or consult a local lawyer or tax professional.
- Short-Term Rental Registration. Hosts renting their homes (or rooms in their homes) for less than 30 days are required to submit a registration form with Mill Valley’s Planning and Building Department. As part of registering, you will need to pay a $50 fee. You can access the form here. Please note that separate rules and regulations apply to hosts that are located outside of Mill Valley in unincorporated areas of Marin County, CA.
- Business License. Mill Valley also requires hosts to have a valid business license on top of the short-term rental registration. You can apply for and receive a business license from the Finance Department by filling out the application form available here. Information on the process in unincorporated areas of Marin County is available here, or by contacting the Marin County Department of Finance.
- Good Neighbor Policies and Emergency Contact. Mill Valley requires its hosts to make sure guests are familiar with trash disposal requirements, noise restrictions, and “good neighbor” conduct including parking with consideration to neighbors. The short-term rental registration process also requires identifying a responsible person to be contacted in the event of emergencies while your home is being used as a short-term rental.
- Taxes. Section 5.28 of the Mill Valley Municipal Code assesses transient occupancy taxes on dwellings that are occupied by transients for periods of 30 days or less. The Transient Occupancy Tax form is available on Mill Valley’s website. Information about transient occupancy taxes in unincorporated Marin County is available here.
- Building and Housing Standards. Mill Valley enforces rules and regulations specifying minimum construction, design, and maintenance standards for buildings, including regulations on habitability, health, and safety. Certain rules and regulations may be relevant to your listing. Please review Title 14 of the Mill Valley Municipal Code or contact the Building Department directly.
- Other Rules. It is also important that you understand and follow other contracts or rules that could apply to your home, such as leases, timeshare ownership rules, condo board or co-op rules, HOA rules, or rules established by tenant organizations. Please read your lease agreement and check with your landlord if applicable.
We are committed to working with local officials to clarify what these laws mean in the context of the sharing economy, and helping them understand how Airbnb benefits our community. Where needed, we will continue to advocate for changes that will allow regular people to rent out their homes.
Last Updated: August 25, 2016