What are Palm Springs' co-owned housing permit rules?

If you’re considering a share in a Palm Springs home, the ownership arrangement alone doesn’t tell you whether the property can operate as a co-owned housing unit. Palm Springs requires a permit, limits these units to 30 citywide and applies property-specific eligibility and operating rules.

Those rules appear in Palm Springs Municipal Code Chapter 5.92, created by Ordinance 2100, adopted in July 2024, and amended by Ordinance 2114 in 2025. A permit is a privilege, not a right. This is general information and not legal advice.

What counts as a co-owned housing unit?

A co-owned housing unit is a residential dwelling managed by a co-owned property manager and used for dwelling, lodging or sleeping by up to 10 owners, or up to 10 members of a limited-liability company that owns it, along with guests.

Chapter 5.92 says this type of unit is not a time-share project as defined by the Municipal Code. If a property meets the Code’s time-share definition, however, the property is treated as a time-share use and is subject to the regulation and prohibition of that use.

The chapter also reaches some arrangements that predate the current permit program. A co-owned housing unit in which an interest was sold before March 10, 2022 is subject to the chapter’s regulatory provisions. Each managed unit covered at the time had to obtain a permit within 30 days after the ordinance took effect.

How do the citywide and neighborhood caps work?

Palm Springs allows no more than 30 permitted co-owned housing units citywide and no more than two in any neighborhood.

The City Council may change the citywide cap by ordinance or resolution after studying the impact of these units. Chapter 5.92 states that the council intends to review the cap before July 25, 2027.

A second limit applies where the vacation rental neighborhood cap in Municipal Code Chapter 5.25 has been exceeded. In that situation, the City cannot issue a new co-owned housing permit. Chapter 5.92 does not provide the Chapter 5.25 cap figures.

As of November 4, 2026, the sources reviewed do not say how many of the 30 permits have been issued, whether a waitlist exists or which neighborhood caps have been reached. Check the City’s co-owned housing program page or call Special Program Compliance at (760) 322-8359 for current availability.

Which properties can receive a new permit?

A property must clear price, spacing, neighborhood and permit-history conditions before Palm Springs can issue a new co-owned housing permit.

The recorded purchase price must be greater than two times the City’s then-current median housing price for single-family residences. Condominiums and other residential housing units are excluded from that median. The measurement is made on the date the City deems the permit application complete. The Code does not print a median price in dollars, so an applicant should confirm the applicable figure with the City.

The property also cannot be within 500 feet of the outer property line of another co-owned housing unit. No new permit may be issued for a property that had a vacation rental permit revoked during the 24 months before its acquisition by the owner.

Complete applications are processed in the order received. These filters mean a property’s purchase price alone cannot establish permit eligibility.

What does the application require?

The application requires property, ownership, insurance and sworn compliance documents from the manager and owners.

Required materials include identification for every owner, applicable entity documents and an operating agreement. A trust certificate is required when a trust is involved. The applicant must also provide a copy of the property’s grant deed, file-stamped as recorded by the Riverside County Recorder’s Office.

Every manager and individual owner must sign a sworn affidavit acknowledging that short-term rentals are prohibited in the unit. An affidavit under penalty of perjury must also confirm that all owners adopted a good neighbor policy.

The permit requires fire and casualty insurance at full replacement value. General liability coverage must have liability limits of at least $2,000,000.

The City’s page lists a $1,407 new or annual registration fee and a $352 fee to add or remove owners. Each new owner requires a completed Application Check List. The sources do not explain what happens to the permit when the property sells, so don’t assume that it transfers or that it does not transfer.

How can the unit be occupied and used?

A permitted unit can be occupied by co-owners and their guests within the Code’s occupancy and conduct limits, but it cannot be used as a vacation rental or for homesharing.

Overnight occupancy is limited to two people per bedroom, plus children age 12 or younger. The City’s table lists six overnight occupants for three bedrooms, eight for four bedrooms, 10 for five bedrooms and 12 for six bedrooms, with children age 12 or younger allowed in addition. Up to four daytime occupants may be present from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

A guest cannot use the unit unless a co-owner is present. Weddings and commercial events are prohibited. Sound must remain inside and cannot be audible at the property line, and the City’s program page says no outside amplified noise is allowed while the unit is in use. Occupants must park on the property when sufficient space is available.

Repairs and maintenance are prohibited from 5 p.m. Friday through 8 a.m. Monday, except for emergencies.

What should a buyer check before committing?

A buyer should confirm permit availability and property eligibility before treating the home as a usable co-owned housing unit.

Start with the recorded purchase price test, the 500-foot separation rule and the two-unit neighborhood cap. Ask the City whether the vacation rental neighborhood cap affects the property and whether a prior vacation rental permit was revoked within the relevant 24-month window. Then account for the annual permit, insurance, sworn affidavits and documents required from every owner.

Other purchase checks may include Indian lease land in Palm Springs, a possible California supplemental property tax bill and, where applicable, the California HOA disclosure documents.

We spoke with several people planning to buy a Palm Springs home together. They expected to divide personal use among themselves and rent the property at other times, but they had not decided who would hold the permit or manage compliance. We reviewed the co-ownership and permit rules before they finalized the ownership arrangement.

What happens when the rules are violated?

Violations can produce administrative citations, and a third violation within 12 months requires a two-year permit suspension.

Operating without a permit carries a $5,000 administrative citation, with each later violation carrying $10,000. Using the unit as a vacation rental or for homesharing carries the same citation amounts.

Noise, nuisance, parking, trash, occupancy or event violations carry $2,500 for a first violation, $5,000 for a second within 12 months and $10,000 for a third. Citations may be issued to co-owners, the manager, guests or all of them.

The Code history identifies Ordinance 2114 as the 2025 amendment. Local coverage of the 2025 amendments is available from the Palm Springs Post.

The short version

Palm Springs requires an annual permit before a home can be occupied as a co-owned housing unit. The program is capped at 30 units citywide and two per neighborhood, with added restrictions tied to purchase price, distance from another unit, vacation rental caps and prior permit revocation.

Confirm the current permit count directly with the City because the published sources do not provide it. Review the required ownership documents, insurance, occupancy limits and operating rules before committing to the arrangement.

For a starting point on the property’s value, use the home value tool.