Rentals

Did you know that most of the homes in Mammoth cannot be rented out on a nightly basis? Many people who contemplate buying a vacation home in Mammoth Lakes with the intention of renting it out on a short-term basis will not be able to do so in most of the residential subdivisions.

The Town of Mammoth Lakes has an ordinance, which strictly prohibits the “transient” rentals of single family residences (SFR). A transient rental is defined as “30 consecutive days or less in exchange for a fee or similar consideration”. The Town of Mammoth Lakes has a zoning map, which outlines the exact areas where nightly rentals are permitted — the pink shaded areas labeled “resort”. The yellow shaded areas are labeled “residential” and transient rentals are not permitted in these subdivisions.

Only “resort” designated residential subdivisions are able to rent out their homes as transient rentals. These resort designated subdivisions include: Greyhawk (Bridges Lane & Greyhawk Court), Juniper Ridge (Old Juniper Lane, Juniper Road, and Juniper Court), Lodestar Drive and Starwood. Although Starwood is zoned “resort” the CC&Rs prohibit transient rentals. If the homeowners within the “resort” designated subdivisions wanted to change this restriction in their CC&Rs, they would have to have a majority vote by the Homeowner’s Association to implement this change.

Many people ask “How will the Town find out if I decide to rent out my house on a nightly basis”? For many years, the Town never went out of its way to enforce this ordinance, but lately, they have hired staff specifically for the purpose of monitoring suspected illegal rental activity. It is unclear what the Town would impose on homeowners...