Multifamily and Duplex Properties for Sale in Rodeo: Zoning and Rent Rules

What multifamily in Rodeo looks like

Rodeo is a small bayfront town in unincorporated west Contra Costa County. Its rental housing is modest in scale:

• Older homes, duplexes and small apartment buildings in the flat blocks around Parker Avenue
• Mixed-use buildings downtown with units over storefronts
• Hillside single-family neighborhoods where ADUs add rental units
• Public housing at Bayo Vista, which a 2014 LAFCO report describes as 52 low-income multifamily units south of San Pablo Avenue
• Townhouse and condominium complexes rented by individual owners

Most buyers are looking at 2-4 unit buildings. See financing 2-4 unit properties and apartment building loans.

Where the zoning allows it

Rodeo follows Contra Costa County zoning. Much of downtown and the Bayo Vista area is in planned unit (P-1) districts, so the unit count depends on the approved development plan. Elsewhere, standard county districts apply.

Parker Avenue housing site. The county’s listing for 233 Parker Avenue shows 1.16 vacant acres on three parcels with a housing element designation of 30 to 75 units per acre. That is far denser than anything else in Rodeo and shows where the county expects new apartments.

General plan designations. A 2014 LAFCO report lists Multi-Family High Density, Light Industrial, Public/Semi-Public and Downtown/Waterfront Rodeo designations around Bayo Vista, all zoned P-1.

ADUs and SB 9. County Chapter 82-24 allows ADUs and JADUs on residential lots and ADUs on multifamily lots. Chapter 88-36 allows two units on eligible single-family lots in urbanized areas. Lots recently occupied by tenants and some hazard areas are excluded under state law. See our ADU investment guide and SB 9 lot split guide.

Inclusionary. Under county Chapter 822-4, projects of five or more new units must make 15% affordable, with in-lieu options for many projects.

Rent rules: state law only

Unincorporated Contra Costa County has no local rent cap on the Attorney General’s chart. Covered Rodeo units follow the Tenant Protection Act. For the San Francisco area, which includes Contra Costa, the cap is 6.3% from August 1, 2025 through July 31, 2026, and 8.8% from August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027. State just cause rules apply after 12 months of tenancy.

Nearby Richmond has local rent control and San Pablo has local just cause rules. Neither applies in Rodeo. See our AB 1482 guide and just cause eviction guide.

Rodeo rental property rules

• No local registry or inspection program. We found none for unincorporated Rodeo. State habitability law and county code enforcement apply.
• Short-term rentals. County Chapter 88-32 requires a permit. Units in buildings of five or more units cannot be used, and non-hosted rentals are capped at 90 days a year.
• Fire district. Rodeo is served by the Rodeo-Hercules Fire Protection District, not the county or Crockett-Carquinez districts covered by the county’s fire-safe sale chapter. Confirm any district inspection rules.

Sewer, the shoreline and older buildings

Sewer. The Rodeo Sanitary District, formed in 1939, serves about 8,679 residents and businesses in Rodeo and Tormey. LAFCO’s 2014 report counted about 2,500 connections in a 1.4-square-mile district split into four separate areas. The plant’s design capacity of 1.14 mgd is well above its roughly 0.60 mgd average flow, so capacity is less of a limit here than in some towns. Have laterals scoped on older buildings, and confirm the parcel is inside the district. Some Rodeo parcels have been outside it. LAFCO approved the district’s sphere of influence in July 2013 and took up the Bayo Vista area annexation in November 2014. A parcel that needs to annex should expect LAFCO and district fees, and possibly extension costs; ask the district before you buy.

Buildings. Older wood-frame buildings near downtown need seismic retrofit review. Buildings with three or more units and elevated balconies or stairs need SB 721 inspections.

Refinery. The Phillips 66 site at 1380 San Pablo Avenue is being converted to renewable fuels. The county approved the land use permit on May 3, 2022, a court later barred operations pending more environmental review, and the Board certified a revised EIR on January 16, 2024. Buyers near the refinery should review its current status and any air quality disclosures.

Transfer tax. The Contra Costa Clerk-Recorder charges $0.55 per $500, with no city tax in Rodeo.

Underwriting a Rodeo multifamily purchase

1. Confirm the zoning, and for P-1 parcels, get the development plan and approved unit count.
2. Check the legal unit count against county records, since older buildings may be nonconforming.
3. Confirm Rodeo Sanitary District service and lateral condition.
4. Classify units under AB 1482 and model increases at the state cap.
5. Collect leases and estoppel certificates.
6. Add reassessed property tax, sewer charges and SB 721 work to your rental property analysis.

Questions people ask

Sources & notes

1. Rodeo Sanitary District, About
2. Contra Costa LAFCO, Bayo Vista annexation report (13-04)
3. Contra Costa County, 233 Parker Avenue listing and Rodeo Renewed
4. County Ordinance Code (GoCodebook): Chapters 84-22, 84-26, 84-66, 84-92, 82-24, 88-32, 88-36, 822-4
5. California Attorney General, Rent Caps
6. Contra Costa Clerk-Recorder, Documentary Transfer Tax

Note: Parcel-level zoning, the Rodeo P-1 plan text, sewer rates and fire district rules were not verified.

General information, not legal or tax advice. Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.

Related: Rodeo real estate guide · Commercial real estate in Rodeo · Multifamily investing guide · Investor services