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

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What multifamily in Marshall looks like

Marshall has no apartment buildings. Its housing is a line of single-family homes and cabins along the east shore of Tomales Bay, many on pilings, plus ranch houses and worker housing on the agricultural land inland, and rooms or units tied to the area’s restaurants and oyster businesses. The county’s LCP Unit II describes the shoreline town as extremely narrow and largely built out. For an investor, "multifamily" means a home with a permitted ADU, an older parcel with two legal cabins, or agricultural worker housing on a ranch. For two-unit financing, see financing 2-4 unit properties and, for larger ranch housing, apartment building loans.

Where the zoning allows it

Marshall is in the Coastal Zone, under county Chapter 20.62.

Coastal district	Two-family	Multifamily	Marshall notes
C-RA / C-R1 residential	Not allowed	Not allowed	Shoreline homes. Single-family plus ADU/JADU
C-R2 / C-RMP	Principal permitted (C-R2, C-RMP); multifamily in C-RMP only	—	Not confirmed in Marshall
C-VCR village commercial	—	Use permit; affordable housing principal permitted	Housing in a commercial core limited to upper floors or rear
C-APZ agricultural	—	—	1 unit per 60 acres. Ag worker housing up to 12 units or 36 beds principal permitted; a first intergenerational home principal permitted, a second by use permit

The Willis coastal permit, for a ranch parcel at 2500 State Route 1, shows C-APZ-60 zoning under the C-AG1 plan designation and the East Shore Community Plan. The county’s West Marin housing sites list has no Marshall sites.

ADUs. ADUs are the usual way to add a rental and generally need a Coastal Development Permit. The shoreline’s 15-foot height cap (Policy C-DES-4 of the 2019 LUP) limits second stories. See our ADU investment guide.

SB 9. SB 9 applies only in urbanized areas and urban clusters and does not reach agricultural parcels. Assume it does not apply in Marshall; see our SB 9 lot split guide.

Rent rules: state law plus county ordinances

Rent cap. No local cap applies. The Attorney General’s rent cap page sets the AB 1482 cap for the San Francisco area, including Marin, at 8.8% for increases from August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027. See our AB 1482 guide.

County just cause. Chapter 5.100 covers properties with three or more units on one legal lot. Unpermitted cabins and STR units count toward the three; permitted ADUs and JADUs do not. Ranch worker housing with several units on one parcel may be covered unless it fits an exclusion. Valid terminations need a business license, registry entry, tenant rights notice and a copy to the CDA within 10 days. See our just cause eviction guide.

Mediation. Increases above 5% in 12 months go to the county’s mandatory mediation program if the tenant asks within 10 calendar days.

Marshall rental property rules

Short-term rentals. Marshall is a capped STR township with 28 initial licenses falling to 27, per the county’s administrative procedures. Owners with more than one licensed STR in 2024 may renew only one after the first term. New buyers join a waitlist.
Business license. Every rental needs a county business license, $15 per dwelling unit per year.
Health permit. Three or more non-owner-occupied units generally need a county Environmental Health permit and multi-unit inspections.

Wastewater, water and shoreline risk

Community wastewater. About 50 east-shore properties share a community wastewater system that pumps effluent from each septic tank to a treatment unit and a leachfield on a donated six-acre parcel. It was built in two phases through an assessment district formed in 2007, with Phase 2 completed in February 2016. Owners pay their share of construction and annual operation. The project responded to shellfish contamination, including a 1998 outbreak that sickened 171 people. Confirm the parcel’s connection, assessment and capacity for any added unit. Off-system parcels need individual septic, which itself needs a coastal permit to replace.

Water. North Marin Water District’s West Marin factsheet does not list Marshall among its service communities. Many Marshall homes rely on wells, springs or small shared systems; confirm the source and its reliability before adding a unit.

Shoreline. Homes on pilings over the bay face sea level rise, wave exposure and costly pier repairs. Highway 1 work, such as the Caltrans culvert replacement at Clark Road, can affect access. Consider a seismic retrofit and structural review; SB 721 applies only to buildings of three or more units.

Shoreline access, mariculture and coastal permits

Two coastal policies shape what a Marshall rental owner can build. First, LCP Unit II lists specific Marshall parcels by APN where public lateral and vertical access and roadside shoulder parking are to be kept, and it notes that the public uses undeveloped shoreline lots for parking, viewing and clamming. A parcel on that list may carry an access condition on any new coastal permit, including one for an ADU or deck. Second, the 2019 LUP supports Tomales Bay mariculture (Policy C-MAR-1) and requires extra biological study for coastal permits on parcels next to the bay (C-BIO-21). Housing tied to an oyster or seafood business is common on this shore, so a buyer should confirm whether any unit is legally linked to a commercial or agricultural use, because that can limit who may occupy it and whether it can be rented on the open market.

Underwriting a Marshall multifamily purchase

Confirm the coastal district and permit status, including coastal permits, for each unit.
Confirm wastewater connection and assessment, or septic condition.
Identify the water source and get any water quality and quantity records.
Separate long-term rent from STR income and verify license status.
Classify tenancies under AB 1482 and county just cause, and collect estoppel certificates.
Model piling and shoreline repair reserves, insurance and taxes in our rental property analysis.

Questions people ask

Are there apartment buildings in Marshall?

No. Rentals are homes, cabins, ADUs and agricultural worker housing.

Can I build worker housing on a Marshall ranch?

On C-APZ land, agricultural worker housing up to 12 units or 36 beds is principal permitted, with a coastal permit.

Does the community wastewater system serve every home?

No. It serves about 50 east-shore properties. Others use individual septic.

How many STR licenses does Marshall have?

28 initially, falling to 27.

Does SB 9 apply in Marshall?

Likely not, given its rural and coastal setting. Confirm with county planning.

Is there rent control?

No local cap. AB 1482 applies to covered units, plus county mediation for increases above 5%.

Sources & notes

Note: We did not identify Marshall’s water providers, open the East Shore plan or confirm the zoning of shoreline parcels.

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

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