Question 1

Does Santa Rosa have local rent control I need to underwrite around?

Accepted Answer

No. Santa Rosa has no local rent control ordinance in effect. The City Council adopted a rent stabilization and just-cause ordinance in August 2016, but voters repealed it at referendum in June 2017 (Measure C, 52.5% no), and it is not in effect today. A Santa Rosa rental is governed only by the statewide Tenant Protection Act. That is not true a few miles outside the city: unincorporated Sonoma County adopted its own tenant protection ordinance in 2024, so the same house on either side of the city line can carry different rules. Talk to your attorney about which side of the line your parcel sits on before you set a re-tenanting timeline.

Question 2

How is unincorporated Sonoma County different from Santa Rosa city limits for a landlord?

Accepted Answer

Unincorporated county parcels carry a local tenant protection ordinance that Santa Rosa itself does not have. Ordinance 6496, adopted September 2024, gives just-cause eviction protection from the first day of occupancy rather than after a waiting period, and treats nonpayment as at-fault cause only once the amount owed exceeds one month's rent, with that defense available to a tenant no more than twice a year. On a no-fault termination the relocation payment is the greater of actual rent or HUD Fair Market Rent for the Santa Rosa metro area. The ordinance also lets the county limit evictions countywide, in the incorporated cities included, during a declared local emergency. In a county that has declared fire emergencies before, that clause reaches a Santa Rosa rental too, even though the city has no ordinance of its own.

Question 3

Can I underwrite short-term rental income on a Santa Rosa DSCR loan?

Accepted Answer

Only if you plan to occupy the unit, which rules out most investor deals. Santa Rosa's non-hosted short-term rental permits are capped citywide and the city is no longer accepting new non-hosted applications, so that path is closed to a new buyer. A hosted permit stays open, but it requires the host to live in the unit as a principal residence more than half the year, which a non-occupant DSCR borrower cannot do. Where a hosted rental does operate, the city caps it at 10 renters regardless of bedroom count, prohibits events including weddings, and sets quiet hours with no outdoor amplified sound after 9pm. Do not build a per-bedroom short-term income pro forma against a Santa Rosa address; the occupancy cap and the closed non-hosted category both work against it.

Question 4

If I buy a short-term rental in unincorporated Sonoma County, does the seller's permit come with it?

Accepted Answer

No. A Sonoma County vacation rental permit dies at the sale and does not transfer to you. The county's zoning code states these permits run with the landowner and expire automatically on sale or transfer, and the county's own ordinance summary describes the cap system as reducing rentals over time specifically because permits lapse when a property changes hands. New vacation rentals are also prohibited outright in the county's R1 low-density residential zones, permits are limited to a natural person or a trust rather than an LLC or corporation, and one owner may hold only one active permit at a time. Do not underwrite a Sonoma County listing's existing short-term income as something you inherit at closing; price the deal on long-term rent instead unless you can secure a new permit yourself.

Question 5

Did Sonoma County's new tenant ordinance eliminate the single-family rental exemption?

Accepted Answer

No, and this is a common misread of the ordinance. Read against the ordinance text itself, Sonoma County's 2024 tenant protection rule removes only one exemption from the statewide Tenant Protection Act: deed-restricted or subsidized affordable housing. The Act's separate exemption for a single-family home or condo owned by a non-corporate owner who gives the required statutory notice is untouched. A single-family DSCR rental in unincorporated Sonoma County can still qualify for that exemption if it meets the statute's ownership and notice conditions. Whether a specific parcel qualifies turns on your entity structure and on the notice you gave, so confirm both with your attorney before you assume either way.

Question 6

What will my property tax bill actually be after I close on a Santa Rosa rental?

Accepted Answer

Model it from the price you pay, not the number on the seller's current bill. California resets the assessed value to the purchase price at closing, and Sonoma County's most common total ad valorem rate inside Santa Rosa is 1.1375% of assessed value, made up of the 1% Prop 13 base plus voter-approved school, junior college, and water project bond levies. On an $815,000 purchase that pencils to roughly $9,271 a year (815,000 x 0.011375). Rates vary by tax rate area even within Santa Rosa, from about 1.1025% to 1.1710%, so pull the parcel's specific rate before you finalize a DSCR pro forma. Talk to your CPA about the exact tax rate area for your address.

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