Journal ·
Short-Term Rentals in Burbank: What the Zoning Code Actually Says
Burbank does not allow short-term rentals in its single-family zones, and the ban is easy to miss because it works by omission. Table 10-1-602 of the Burbank Municipal Code lists the uses the zoning code allows in the R-1 and R-1-H zones, lodging is not among them, and the subsection that introduces the table closes the gap. There is one place the code does use the phrase, and it is stricter than most owners expect: accessory dwelling units carry a 90-day floor on any rental, not a 30-day one.
Are short-term rentals allowed in Burbank?
No. The city's short-term rental FAQ, published in 2021, answers it in one line: short-term rentals "are not allowed in Burbank because they are not listed as a permitted use in the City's Zoning Code."
The Planning Division put the mechanism more plainly in a written Q&A dated July 30, 2020: "Burbank prohibits short term rentals by omission in the zoning code." Staff added that the city's code "does not have a comprehensive regulatory system like Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Pasadena, or Glendale do."
That phrasing matters more than a flat prohibition would. There is no chapter headed short-term rentals to look up and no permit to be refused. The answer sits in the structure of a use table, which is why an agent can say the city has no ordinance on the subject, describe the paperwork accurately, and still reach the wrong conclusion.
What counts as a short-term rental in Burbank?
The city defines it as the rental of a dwelling, or part of one, "for occupancy, dwelling, lodging or sleeping purposes for a period of less than thirty (30) consecutive calendar days." The threshold is 30 consecutive days, counted per booking rather than per tenant or per year.
A 28-night corporate booking is therefore a short-term rental in the city's eyes, even though nobody would call it a vacation stay. The furnished executive rental market around the studios sits directly on that line. In 2020 staff told residents that listings were spread across the city, with what appeared to be a higher concentration in the Media District. A seller describing a property as producing corporate housing income is describing something a buyer should price carefully before removing contingencies on a Burbank listing.
How a zoning code bans a use it never lists
Burbank uses permissive zoning, and says so twice. The citywide rule in section 10-1-501 reads: "Unless otherwise provided, uses not authorized shall not be carried on where not authorized, except as lawful nonconforming uses." The residential rule in section 10-1-602(B) repeats it for the single-family zones: uses "not expressly listed in Table 10-1-602, or uses listed as prohibited, may not be carried on in the R-1 or R-1-H zones except as lawful nonconforming uses, unless authorized per Section 10-1-503 or other provisions of this Code."
Table 10-1-602 runs to about 33 rows in four groups: residential and accessory uses, non-residential uses, equestrian and special uses in the R-1-H zone, and cannabis uses. Each row carries a symbol. P is permitted, AUP needs an administrative use permit, CUP needs a conditional use permit, S applies when state law preempts, and three dashes mean prohibited. The only rows marked prohibited outright are the cannabis ones. No row in any group is lodging. The table was last amended by Ordinance 24-4,010, effective March 29, 2024, and the published code is current through Ordinance 26-4,038, so this is not a stale page waiting for an update.
The exceptions are narrower than they look. A lawful nonconforming use has to have been lawful when it began, a question for the city's file rather than the current code page. Section 10-1-503, "City Planner Classifications," lets the City Planner treat an unlisted use as eligible for a conditional use permit when it is substantially similar to listed uses and four findings are made. That is discretionary, not an exemption. When a seller says a rental is grandfathered, ask which file says so.
The 90-day rule on accessory dwelling units
An ADU is a permitted use in both zones, which leads owners to assume the unit is theirs to rent on any terms. The zoning code says otherwise, in the one subsection that is actually headed short term rentals. Section 10-1-620.3(Q) provides that "Unless otherwise provided for in the Burbank Municipal Code, ADUs and Junior ADUs, which are rented, shall be rented for terms longer than 90 days." The city's 2021 FAQ says the same thing in program language, noting that ADUs "were prohibited from being used as STRs by the City Council in 2020."
This is the detail that most often gets a purchase wrong, because ADU income is often the number that makes a hillside or Rancho deal pencil out. A 60-day furnished ADU let clears the 30-day short-term rental definition and still breaks the 90-day rule. The rules on where an ADU can go at all are in the Burbank ADU guide, and the reassessment side is in the ADU property tax guide.
What the city actually does about it
Enforcement is complaint-driven. Staff investigate a complaint through internet research, contact the owner, and ask anyone found to be operating to shut the listing down. In 2020 the Planning Division wrote that enforcement is "difficult" because listings are spread across many platforms, and the 2021 FAQ says the city could not identify other operating rentals given its technical and staffing limits. Asked in 2020 whether the city charged an occupancy tax on short-term rental stays, staff answered that there was none at that time.
That gap is the trap. Low enforcement is not permission, and it does not transfer with the property. A neighbor complaint or an insurance claim after a guest injury puts the use in front of the city on someone else's timetable rather than yours.
The permit program that never became law
Search for Burbank short-term rental rules and several compliance sites describe a permit system: a primary residence of at least eight months a year, a cap of 120 booked nights per fiscal year, an annual business license at $286.45 on top of a $201.85 application fee, no more than 600 licenses citywide, occupancy of two adults per bedroom plus two with a 16-person ceiling, and fines of $1,500, $3,000 and $5,000 for successive violations. Those figures are real and quoted accurately. They come from the proposed regulations in the city's 2021 FAQ, under a heading that says exactly that.
The sequence is documented. The City Council took the question up as a study session on June 16, 2020 and directed staff to bring back regulations allowing short-term rentals. Staff aimed for a Planning Board draft in November 2020 and a Council decision in December 2020. What did not happen is the part that governs: the program was never written into the zoning code. The check that settles it takes a minute. Open Table 10-1-602, read the use list, and look at the amendment line. A rule in force would be in the table.
What the ban does not cover
The line is narrower than the word ban suggests. A house let on a term of 30 consecutive days or longer is an ordinary residential tenancy, whatever the furniture costs. A room rented inside the house on the same footing is generally treated the same way, although room-by-room letting can raise a separate boarding-house question the use table does not answer, so that one is worth putting to Community Development in writing. A home occupation is separately listed as a permitted use, but Article 6, Division 11 limits it to an office use, artistic use, cottage food operation or music lessons incidental to the dwelling, and music lessons need an administrative use permit.
The length of each stay changes the analysis, not the guest or the platform. Moving a listing from nightly to monthly moves it into landlord and tenant law, where Burbank's Tenant Protection Ordinance may apply. In effect since August 31, 2024, it tracks the coverage of California's Tenant Protection Act, which exempts many single-family houses, so coverage has to be checked house by house.
Los Angeles allows what Burbank does not
Alla's service area straddles the line. Toluca Lake is split between the two cities, and North Hollywood, Studio City, Sherman Oaks and Encino are all City of Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Home-Sharing Program took effect on July 1, 2019, with enforcement beginning November 1, 2019.
| Burbank | City of Los Angeles | |
|---|---|---|
| Status of the use | Not listed in the R-1 use table | Allowed with registration |
| Where the rule lives | BMC 10-1-501, 10-1-602(B), 10-1-620.3(Q) | LAMC 12.22 A.32 (Ord. 185,931, CF 14-1635-S2) |
| Primary residence required | n/a | Yes, more than 6 months a year |
| Night cap | n/a | 120 per calendar year on Regular registration |
| Beyond the cap | n/a | Extended registration, notice to abutting owners and occupants |
| Registration fee | n/a | Set by the City Planning fee schedule and revised periodically. The department's own fact sheet and its current fee ordinance do not agree, so confirm the figure before budgeting |
| Per-night city fee | n/a | Yes, an amount set by Council resolution |
| Rent-stabilized units | n/a | Excluded |
| Listing requirement | n/a | Registration number in every advertisement |
Los Angeles also bars hosts with open code violations and requires a notarized landlord affidavit from any renter who hosts. These figures are current as of September 2026, and City Planning has said updated Administrative Guidelines and a new registration portal take effect on September 28, 2026. Which side of the line a parcel sits on changes the business case completely, and on a Toluca Lake block that line can run between two houses. The Toluca Lake city line guide covers how to check a specific address.
What to check before you write the offer
| Question | Where the answer lives |
|---|---|
| Is the parcel in Burbank or in the City of Los Angeles? | Assessor parcel record; city limits map |
| Is the zone R-1 or R-1-H? | Burbank zoning map; Table 10-1-602 governs both |
| Does the income the seller quotes come from stays under 30 days? | Rent roll and booking records, not a verbal estimate |
| Is any of that income from an ADU on a term of 90 days or less? | Rent roll against the permit file; BMC 10-1-620.3(Q) |
| Is a nonconforming use being claimed? | Ask for the city file number, not a description |
| Does the purchase still work on long-term tenancies only? | Rerun the numbers before removing contingencies |
| If the parcel is in Los Angeles, is the unit rent-stabilized? | ZIMAS housing tab; RSO units cannot register |
Q: Can I rent my Burbank house for 30 days or more?
A tenancy of 30 consecutive days or longer on the main house falls outside the city's short-term rental definition. An ADU is the exception, with its own 90-day floor. If tenants are in place when you decide to sell, the notice and relocation rules are in the tenant-occupied sale guide.
Q: Does an existing listing have to be disclosed to a buyer?
A seller must disclose material facts affecting value or desirability, and an income stream that depends on an unauthorized use is exactly that. On a listing, the cleaner path is to stop the bookings before the property goes on the market, so the marketing describes what a buyer can lawfully continue. The seller's page covers what else gets settled before a Burbank listing goes live.
Q: What about a duplex or a fourplex in Burbank?
Table 10-1-602 governs R-1 and R-1-H only, and section 10-1-502 is titled uses in all zones except residential zones, so the multifamily zones run on their own use table inside the residential article. The logic in 10-1-501 is the same either way. Read the table that applies to the zone before treating nightly income as real.
This article is general information drawn from the Burbank Municipal Code and City of Burbank publications, not legal or tax advice. Codes, programs and fees change, and a parcel can carry overlays or private covenants not discussed here. Confirm your address with the Burbank Community Development Department before relying on any figure. Call Alla at (818) 699-5367 or use the enquiry form.
Buying in Burbank and counting on rental income? Start with the Burbank area guide and the buyer's page for what gets verified before the contingency period ends.