Vacation Rental Rules in Napa Valley: County and Town-by-Town

Short answer: in most of Napa County you can’t run an Airbnb-style rental of a house, and where you can, the permits are capped and usually spoken for. The unincorporated county prohibits transient rentals of dwellings in its residential and agricultural zones, Calistoga banned short-term rentals citywide in November 2025, and Yountville makes advertising one unlawful. The City of Napa and St. Helena allow them only under permit caps with wait lists, and American Canyon’s code has no short-term rental program at all.

That matters most to second-home buyers and investors who expect nightly income to help carry a Napa Valley property. This post sets out each jurisdiction’s rule as of October 2026, the room taxes that apply where lodging is legal, and what to check before you buy. For the county next door, see our companion post on vacation rental rules in Sonoma County.

The rules at a glance

Room tax figures for the unincorporated county and the City of Napa come from their own published rates. Those for St. Helena, Calistoga, Yountville and American Canyon come from Visit Napa Valley’s 2024 TID and TOT guide, so confirm the current rate with each city. All of them apply to lawful lodging. Paying the tax doesn’t make an illegal rental legal, as the county itself points out.

Unincorporated Napa County: generally prohibited

Most of the valley floor and hillsides outside the five cities and towns is county land, including Rutherford, Oakville, Angwin, Pope Valley, Coombsville outside city limits and Silverado. There, County Code section 18.104.410 says transient commercial occupancies of dwelling units are prohibited in all residential and agricultural zoning districts.

A December 10, 2019 Board of Supervisors agenda letter explains how the county reads that rule. It describes short-term rentals as dwellings advertised on vacation rental websites for stays under 30 days, says the code bars advertising, negotiating and using a dwelling that way, and names two exceptions. One is a bed and breakfast already operating under a use permit; the other covers certain Silverado Country Club units designated in an approved development agreement. The county no longer issues new B&B use permits, according to the same letter.

Enforcement is real. The 2019 letter estimated about 450 non-permitted short-term rentals in the unincorporated area and approved a contract with Host Compliance to scan listing sites seven days a week. The county’s approach starts with education and time to correct, then can move to administrative fines, a civil complaint or a referral to the District Attorney.

Accessory units don’t open a back door. The county’s ADU standards in section 18.104.180 require the owner to record a covenant against renting the ADU for fewer than 30 consecutive days. Our guide to Napa’s AP and AW agricultural zoning explains what else those districts allow, and our Silverado page covers the country club exception.

The county does collect room tax from lawful lodging: 13% on stays of 30 days or less, plus a 2% tourism assessment, with an annual registration and a certificate of authority. Its tax page states that the certificate doesn’t authorize an unlawful business and that the county keeps its power to enforce section 18.104.410.

City of Napa: capped permits, transferable whole-home rights

Inside the city limits, Napa Municipal Code section 17.52.515 defines a vacation rental as lodging guests for fewer than 31 days and allows two kinds. A non-hosted permit covers a whole house with no owner present. A hosted permit requires the owner to live at the home and sleep there while it’s rented, with no more than two bedrooms rented to guests.

There are 60 hosted permits and 41 non-hosted ones. As of the city’s September 2026 update, every non-hosted permit was in use, the non-hosted wait list was full, and no new non-hosted applications were being taken. Hosted applications were accepted from October 1 to October 15, 2026, with permits to be chosen by lottery after the window closed.

The detail that matters most to a buyer is transfer. Under subsection 17.52.515(f)(2), an existing non-hosted permit can be transferred to a new owner, and the city says transfer applications may be submitted at any time. A house that already holds one is a different asset from the house next door, so make the purchase contingent on the city approving the transfer.

Lodging in the city carries 15% in total: a 12% transient occupancy tax, a 1% affordable and workforce housing tax and a 2% tourism improvement district assessment, according to the city’s remittance form effective June 16, 2025. Our City of Napa guide and our page on Napa condos cover how this plays out by neighborhood and building.

St. Helena: 25 permits and a review underway

According to the St. Helena Star, the city allows short-term rentals of fewer than 30 days only under a permit, with a cap of 25 set by a 2012 ordinance. The paper reported on June 17, 2026 that 23 permits were active, two applications were pending and 62 applicants were on the wait list.

The same report said the city is revisiting the program. Ideas under discussion included 300-foot buffers between rentals, letting staff approve new permits, annual instead of two-year renewals, and possibly raising the cap to 50 or tying it to a share of the city’s 2,897 housing units. Changes were tentatively headed to the Planning Commission in fall or winter and then to the City Council.

In an earlier report on the council’s adoption of the current restrictions (undated online), the Star said an applicant must have owned the home for three years, a rental must be used at least 60 days a year unless it’s also the operator’s primary residence, and anyone who has run an illegal short-term rental can’t get a permit. We couldn’t open the city’s code itself, and the program may have changed since June 2026. Ask the city for the current rules, and whether a seller’s permit can pass to you, before you assume it will; our St. Helena guide covers the rest of the city’s rules.

Calistoga: banned citywide

Calistoga’s Municipal Code chapter 17.34, added by Ordinance 778 on November 18, 2025, says, in the unofficial GoCodebook copy we read, no person may operate a short-term rental anywhere in the city. It defines a short-term rental as a dwelling or part of one rented for 30 consecutive days or less, and it bars hosting platforms from completing bookings the code doesn’t expressly authorize.

Penalties are steep. A violation is a misdemeanor carrying a $1,000 fine per violation, each day counts separately, and because the chapter treats short-term rental operation as a threat to public health or safety, infraction fines start at $1,500 for a first violation, $3,000 for a second within a year and $5,000 for each one after that. Hotels, motels, bed and breakfast inns, inns and resorts are defined separately and aren’t dwelling units under the chapter. Our Calistoga page has more on the town.

Yountville: no advertising, and every rental needs a permit

Yountville regulates all residential rentals through chapter 8.08 of its municipal code. Section 8.08.060(B) makes it unlawful for a landlord or a hosting platform to advertise a short-term rental unit, and section 8.08.070(B) bars a platform from completing a booking for a unit that isn’t on the town’s registry.

Long-term rentals are allowed but registered: a landlord needs a rental unit permit on or before January 1 of each year, can’t accept rent without one, and the permit doesn’t transfer to a new owner. Each day of a violation counts separately. Our Yountville guide covers the town’s housing stock and other rules.

American Canyon: no program to join

In the unofficial GoCodebook reproduction of American Canyon’s municipal code we reviewed in October 2026, the table of contents shows no chapter on short-term rentals, vacation rentals, home sharing or bed and breakfasts. As far as we found, there’s no permit to apply for, and you shouldn’t buy a home there expecting nightly income without written confirmation from the city’s planning staff. Visit Napa Valley’s 2024 guide lists a 12% room tax in the city, plus the 2% tourism district assessment at hotels in the district. Our American Canyon page describes the city’s neighborhoods and planning rules.

What this means for a purchase

For most Napa Valley buyers, the realistic income plan is a lease of 30 days or more, owner use, or both. Before you write an offer that depends on rental income, work through these steps:

1. Confirm the jurisdiction. A “Napa” or “St. Helena” mailing address can sit on county land, where the county’s prohibition applies.
2. Ask for the permit itself, not a rental history. Listing-site reviews and past income prove nothing about legality.
3. Check transferability in writing. In the City of Napa a non-hosted permit can transfer; elsewhere, assume it can’t until the city says otherwise.
4. Read the association documents. A condominium or planned development can restrict rentals more tightly than the city does.
5. Run the numbers on long-term rent and personal use. Our post on second home versus investment property explains how lenders and tax rules treat each.

If a share in a managed second home appeals more than renting, our Pacaso guide explains how co-ownership works and where Wine Country towns have restricted it. This post is general information, not legal or tax advice; before relying on rental income from a Napa County property, have a California land use attorney confirm the parcel’s rules and a tax adviser review the room tax and income tax treatment.

Questions people ask

Can you Airbnb in Napa?

Only in limited cases. In the City of Napa you need a vacation rental permit, and all 41 whole-home permits were taken as of September 2026. In the unincorporated county, transient rentals of dwellings are prohibited in residential and agricultural zones, with narrow exceptions.

Can I buy a house in Napa that already has a vacation rental permit?

Yes, inside the City of Napa. An existing non-hosted permit can be transferred to a new owner under the city’s code, so make your offer contingent on the city approving the transfer.

Is Calistoga’s short-term rental ban permanent?

It’s in the city’s zoning code as chapter 17.34, adopted by Ordinance 778 in November 2025, and stays until the City Council changes it. There’s no permit process for new or existing rentals in homes.

Does St. Helena allow short-term rentals?

Up to 25 permits, with a wait list of 62, the St. Helena Star reported in June 2026. The city was reviewing the program that year, so check the current rules with the planning department.

Are monthly rentals allowed in Napa County?

Rentals that run past each jurisdiction’s short-term threshold are ordinary tenancies rather than vacation rentals. The thresholds differ: under 30 days in the unincorporated county, fewer than 31 in the City of Napa, and 30 days or less in Calistoga. Yountville requires a town permit for any residential rental.

Can I rent my ADU short term in Napa County?

Not in the unincorporated county, where the ADU owner records a covenant against rentals under 30 consecutive days. Cities set their own rules, so check before you build or buy.

What is the hotel tax in Napa Valley?

Lawful lodging in the unincorporated county pays a 13% transient occupancy tax plus a 2% tourism assessment, and Visit Napa Valley’s 2024 guide lists the same for St. Helena, Calistoga and Yountville. The City of Napa’s total is 15%; the 2024 guide lists 12% for American Canyon, plus 2% at hotels in the tourism district.

If you’re weighing a Napa Valley second home and want the rental rules checked for a specific address before you commit, talk with us about buying in Napa County.

Sources & notes

• GoCodebook (unofficial reproduction of Napa County Code): Chapter 18.104, including 18.104.410 and 18.104.180 (text as of October 4, 2026)
• Napa County Board of Supervisors: Short Term Rental Enforcement agenda letter (December 10, 2019)
• Napa County: Transient Occupancy Tax
• City of Napa: Vacation Rental Permits (updated September 2026)
• City of Napa: TOT remittance form (effective June 16, 2025)
• St. Helena Star: St. Helena revisits short-term rentals (June 17, 2026)
• St. Helena Star: Council agrees to new restrictions on short-term rentals (undated online)
• GoCodebook (unofficial reproduction of Calistoga Municipal Code): Chapter 17.34, Prohibition of Short-Term Rentals (text as of October 4, 2026)
• GoCodebook (unofficial reproduction of Yountville Municipal Code): Chapter 8.08, Rental Property Registration (text as of October 4, 2026)
• GoCodebook (unofficial reproduction of American Canyon Municipal Code): table of contents
• Visit Napa Valley: TID and TOT guide (2024)

GoCodebook copies are unofficial reproductions of each code; check the official code or the planning department before relying on a section. Room taxes for the smaller towns are from Visit Napa Valley’s 2024 guide.

Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.