Public Opinion Survey Results

Public Opinion Survey Results - San Diego City Residents Are Unsatisfied with Current Short-Term Vacation Regulatory Policies 

April 27, 2026

For more information, contact Cynara Velazquez, cynara@housing4sd.org, 619-208-0567

According to a survey conducted for Housing for San Diegans, San Diego City residents believe that the proliferation of short-term vacation rentals (STROs) has increased the cost of long-term housing in San Diego City and that the City’s current STRO ordinance has only made the situation worse.   More than a majority of San Diego voters surveyed, 63%, would like to see fewer vacation rentals in San Diego City. 

Housing for San Diegans conducted this public opinion survey of 517 San Diego City voters between April 9, 2026 and April 17, 2026, on their views on housing pressures, vacation rental proliferation and public policy.  This survey has a 95% confidence level and a confidence interval of 4.31. 

68% of survey participants had personally been negatively affected by housing costs, and 63% had considered moving away from San Diego City, due to the high cost of housing. 

Nearly half of the survey participants (47%) have been concerned about their rent or mortgage in the past two years. 

A supermajority of survey participants, 65%, believe that the proliferation of vacation rentals has increased housing costs. 

17% of survey participants knew someone who was evicted when their housing unit was converted to a vacation rental.

Survey participants overwhelmingly believe that vacation rental platforms have increased the number of vacation rentals in San Diego City. 

Survey participants were particularly concerned with the conversion of apartment complexes into “apartment-hotels” -  a phenomenon which has transformed many of the naturally occurring affordable housing units (a.k.a. apartment complexes) in beach communities and downtown areas into vacation rentals. Today, there are approximately. 1,251 apartment complexes in San Diego, where the majority of units are utilized for vacation rentals.   78% of survey participants disapproved of converting apartment complexes into vacation rentals.   

Survey participants do not believe that the San Diego City Short-Term Vacation Rental Occupancy (STRO) Ordinance, which took effect in 2023, has succeeded in limiting or regulating vacation rentals.  Only 6% of survey participants believe the STRO ordinance has led to fewer vacation rentals, while 19% believe the number of vacation rentals has increased under the STRO ordinance.

Only 3% of participants believe the STRO Ordinance reduced disturbances from vacation rentals. 23% believe that noise disturbances have increased under the STRO Ordinance.  

The number of vacation rental listings on Airbnb in San Diego has decreased since the implementation of the STRO Ordinance. However, the nature of housing listed on Airbnb has changed over the last five years.  Before the implementation of the STRO ordinance, there were significantly more listings for room rentals and owner-owned single-family home rentals on Airbnb.  In the last five years, there has been a shift towards short-term rentals of investor-owned condos, apartments, and other units that were previously long-term rentals on Airbnb, leading to a greater impact on the rental market despite a smaller number of overall listings. For this reason, perceptions of the vacation rental market have not improved, despite the ordinance's implementation. 

The majority of survey participants agree that there should be only one vacation rental per property owner. 

The STRO Ordinance includes a regulation limiting one short-term vacation rental per host. Unfortunately, the STRO Ordinance failed to enforce this limitation.  Having left the definition of “host” wide open, investment property owners have succeeded in owning any number of vacation rentals by placing the name of any willing individual on their STRO licenses, regardless of whether or not the individual had any connection to the property. 

This public opinion survey makes it clear that San Diego City residents are unhappy with current STRO regulations and desire solutions to limit and regulate vacation rentals while lowering long-term housing costs. 

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