Buying an STR at Joshua Tree

This piece covers unincorporated Joshua Tree, Landers and Wonder Valley, which are governed by San Bernardino County. Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms are incorporated towns with their own rules.

The market

Joshua Tree’s median sale price was $404,732 for the three months ending August 2026, up 6.2% on the year. Thirty-seven houses sold in that window, down from 47. The median house sat 151 days, 61 days longer than a year earlier.

The permit application

San Bernardino County Code section 84.28.040(c) reads: “A STR permit shall not be transferrable. A new owner that desires to use the property as a STR shall apply for a new STR permit.”

The house can keep operating while the new application is pending, under section 84.28.050(c), on three conditions: the unit was permitted by the previous owner, the new owner applies within 30 days of taking title, and there are no outstanding violations. An open code enforcement case at closing removes the third one.

A new application costs $1,144 against $550 for a renewal, on the fee schedule effective July 1, 2026. The county publishes a one-week review, an exterior inspection, a 20-day notice period to surrounding property owners and a 30-day appeal period. It publishes no total. Added end to end, those four steps come to about eight to ten weeks, an estimate from the published intervals rather than a county figure.

That inspection is required at issuance and at every renewal under section 84.28.050(g), and a failure is a ground for denial under section 84.28.050(d)(3). It does not look at the wiring, the framing or the septic.

Owners of surrounding property can appeal the new permit. Under section 84.28.050(f), the grounds include a claim that past use of the property as a short-term rental did not comply. If the appeal succeeds the application is denied, and the code states no further appeal is available at the administrative level.

Bedrooms the county counts

Occupancy is set by bedroom count, and section 84.28.060(b)(1) says the count “will be verified using County Assessor data and County building records.” Section 84.28.060(b)(2) excludes kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms, dens, dining areas, halls, closets, storage and utility spaces. Section 84.28.060(b)(3) sets a ceiling of 12 occupants.

The same bedroom count sizes the septic system. The county’s onsite wastewater management program sets the design flow and tank capacity for a single-family house.

Occupancy from County Code section 84.28.060(b), code version current through Ordinance 4504, passed 13 January 2026. Design flow and tank capacity from the county’s Local Agency Management Program for onsite wastewater treatment systems, May 2017, effective 13 May 2018.

A garage converted to a third bedroom can be advertised as sleeping eight. If the assessor’s record and the building file show two bedrooms, the permit is written for six.

The septic and the added bedroom

The county’s onsite wastewater FAQ, dated 10 September 2018, states what happens when bedrooms are added: “If the original system has been oversized in anticipation of future additions and can be certified by a qualified contractor, then no change is required. If only the minimum system was installed, then it will have to be replaced with the appropriate size tank, and the dispersal area must be increased.” The same document requires a 100% replacement area.

Environmental Health Services does not certify a septic system at a sale. The same FAQ says the department “does not certify private OWTS and is not involved in property transfers.” The county’s certification form, dated January 2021, is completed by a state-licensed contractor or another qualified professional, records tank capacity, dispersal area, a dye test and a hydraulic test, and carries a field for the number of bedrooms.

Requirements for habitable space

The county’s residential plan review handout, revised 31 March 2023, lists what habitable space has to have. A ceiling has to be at least seven feet high and the floor area at least 70 square feet. Every sleeping room needs an emergency escape opening, at least 5.7 square feet clear, at least 24 inches high and 20 inches wide, with a sill no more than 44 inches off the floor. Heating has to hold 68 degrees. Smoke alarms go in each sleeping room and carbon monoxide alarms outside the sleeping areas, interconnected and wired to the building with battery backup.

The permit record

The county’s online permit portal is free and covers applications submitted after 30 June 2017. Anything older takes a permit research request through Land Use Services, free to the owner or an authorized representative and $10 to anyone else, with a published turnaround of 30 business days minimum.

Work built without a permit carries a penalty equal to the permit fee, under County Code section 16.0204(i)(4): “Work commencing before permit issuance: cost shall equal to the cost of the permit for the work being completed.” A miscellaneous field investigation is $151 under section 16.0204(i)(3)(B).

The assessor’s property pages carry a warning: the information “is not intended to be relied upon for classifying actual permitted property use or determining legal ownership.”

The spa and the pool

The owner acknowledgement form the county requires, revised March 2026, includes this item: pools, spas and hot tubs are permitted and maintained, pools are fenced to code, and spas and hot tubs are covered, locked, and “the necessary electrical to spa permit has been obtained.”

California Health and Safety Code section 115922 requires two of seven drowning prevention features, and it attaches when a building permit is issued for a new or remodeled pool or spa at a private single-family home. The same section directs the local building official to inspect those features.

Unpaid occupancy tax

The county’s transient occupancy tax is 7%, under County Code section 14.0203(b)(1). Section 14.0203(h)(8) says a buyer “shall withhold sufficient of the purchase price to cover such amount until the former owner produces a receipt from the Tax Collector showing that it has been paid or a certificate stating that no amount is due.” Section 14.0203(h)(9) makes a buyer who fails to withhold personally liable for the amount, to the extent of the purchase price.

Suspension and revocation

Operating without a permit carries a fine of $1,000 per violation per day under County Code section 11.0208. Violations at a permitted rental run $1,000, then $2,000, then $5,000 within any 12 months. Under section 84.28.100, two suspensions in a consecutive 24-month period are a ground for revocation, and no application for a permit may be filed within 12 months after a revocation is final.

The two-permit ceiling

Section 84.28.040(a)(4) makes an owner ineligible for more than two permits. The chapter defines an owner to include a person, corporation, partnership, personal or family trust, limited liability company or limited liability partnership. A parcel of two acres or more can carry two permits. A parcel under two acres carries one.

Where these facts come from

Every figure here is a published county fee, a section of the San Bernardino County Code as it stood on 13 January 2026, a county document with a date on it, or a market figure from Redfin.

Short-term rental ordinance: San Bernardino County Code, Title 8, Chapter 84.28, version current through Ordinance 4504, passed 13 January 2026 — sections 84.28.040, 84.28.050, 84.28.060 and 84.28.100. Penalties: County Code section 11.0208, administrative citation actions, Ordinance 4424, 2021. Occupancy tax: County Code section 14.0203. Fees and timeline: San Bernardino County short-term rental program, getting started page, fee schedule effective 1 July 2026, and the owner acknowledgement and safety requirements form, revised March 2026. Septic: Local Agency Management Program for onsite wastewater treatment systems, May 2017, effective 13 May 2018; the onsite wastewater treatment system FAQ for single family residences, 10 September 2018; and the residential onsite wastewater treatment system certification form, January 2021. Permits and building records: Land Use Services permit research page and customer FAQ; County Code section 16.0204, as amended by Ordinance 4483, 2025; and the residential code plan review comments handout, revised 31 March 2023. Assessor: San Bernardino County Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk property information pages. Pools and spas: California Health and Safety Code section 115922, and the county information bulletin on swimming pool, spa and hot tub barrier requirements, effective 15 August 2018, updated 1 January 2026. Market: Redfin, Joshua Tree housing market, a rolling median for the three months ending August 2026. All pages fetched 15 September 2026.