TranslateProperty Managers
A property manager who is certified by Sonoma County is required for all vacation rental properties. This page contains information on the property manager requirement, certification process and materials, updating property manager contact information, and reporting forms.
On this page:
Update Property Manager and 24-hour Contact
It is the vacation rental property owner’s responsibility to maintain updated property manager and 24-hour contact information on their vacation rental permit.
Property Manager Certification
Who Must Be Certified?
If you serve as the property manager or the 24-hour contact for one or more Vacation Rentals within unincorporated Sonoma County, you are required to take this course and pass the test. Managers of hotels, motels, campgrounds, or hosted rentals do not need to take this certification course.
Complaint Response
Please be sure that you are able to respond to complaints related to the Vacation Rental(s) you manage within 30 minutes during quiet hours (9 pm - 7 am) and within 1 hour outside quiet hours (7 am - 9 pm).
A property manager must report the resolution for each complaint received to Permit Sonoma within 24 hours of the complaint being recieved. If a certified property manager is unable to resolve a complaint related to a vacation rental, they must immediately report it to the Department.
Vacation Rental Complaint Submittal
Certification Course Materials
The information covered by this course is available by reading the following document collection. Please read all of the materials prior to taking the test.
Section 1: Background (PDF: 244 kB)
Section 2: Permitting Standards (PDF: 159 kB)
Section 3: Operational Standards (PDF: 477 kB)
Section 4: Responsibilities and Enforcement (PDF: 227 kB)
Section 5: Best Practices (PDF: 406 kB)
Section 6: Transient Occupancy Tax (PDF: 210 kB)
Certification Exam
Property Manager Certification Test
Property Manager Forms
Submit Incident Report Form for Property Managers (PDF Form: 172 kB) – Please open separately in a PDF reader software (such as Adobe Reader), or view by using Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge web browsers. Fillable PDF forms are not compatible with Mozilla FireFox or Apple Safari web browsers.
PJR-145 Affidavit of Cessation of Vacation Rental or Hosted Rental Use (PDF) – Please remind the owner(s) of a vacation rental property to submit this form when they sell the property or no longer wish the property to be a vacation rental.