Owning a rental in San Diego can mean a one-year lease, a condo with an association cap, or a back unit on the same lot as your house. The rules are not the same for each, and a listing photoshoot is not permission to take guests.
Long-term rentals
A long-term lease should state the rent, the term, who pays which utilities, the deposit, and how maintenance is handled. California’s Tenant Protection Act covers many residential rentals and excludes others. Rent-increase limits and just-cause rules have exceptions, and they change. Check the current statute, or have counsel check it, before you raise rent or end a tenancy. Do not copy a lease from another state.
Screening, showings, and repairs take time if you do not live nearby. Jon manages rental property in San Diego, including leasing. Ask him what that engagement includes before you assume a manager only collects rent.
Short-term stays
The City of San Diego regulates short-term residential occupancy. Many stays require a license, and the rules differ by housing type and location. A condo association can ban short stays even when the city would allow them. Confirm both the city ordinance and the CC&Rs before you advertise a nightly rate. Mission Valley, downtown, and the beach neighborhoods are not under one identical rule.
Condos, ADUs, and houses you still live in
Condo. Read the rental cap and the minimum lease length. A building that is already at its rental cap cannot take another tenant, no matter what the listing implied.
ADU. Rent it only if the unit is permitted. An unpermitted garage conversion is a bad thing to put a tenant in.
House you occupy. A roommate and a second dwelling are different legal setups. The permit and the lease should match what is on the property.
Selling while a tenant is in place
You can sell a rented home. Disclose the lease, the rent, and the deposit. Buyers will want to know whether they are inheriting a tenant and for how long. Showings need notice that follows the lease and California law. Do not promise a vacant house unless the lease actually ends in time.
For a management conversation or a sale of a rented property, contact Gower Realty Group.
