Pacific Grove Property Management
Where the city requires a local manager if you live more than thirty minutes away.
What owning here actually looks like.
Pacific Grove is close to evenly split between owners and renters, with 3,470 renting households out of 6,992 occupied units. Ten percent of the housing stock is a second home. It has the tightest and most specific short term rental regime of any city on the Peninsula, and the one rule that most directly creates work for a professional manager.
What governs a rental in Pacific Grove.
Short term rental licenses are capped at 250 city wide, with roughly 84 currently active, and they are permitted only in the Coastal and Commercial zoning districts. Home sharing, where the owner remains in residence, is allowed city wide. There is a 55 foot zone of exclusion between licensed properties and a 15 percent density cap per block.
The rule that matters most: the owner must live within thirty minutes by vehicle, or hire a property manager, with a site manager reachable 24 hours a day. If you do not live on the Peninsula, a manager is not optional. It is a condition of the license.
Licenses are not transferable to another person or another property, which means a buyer cannot assume the seller's license. Renewal is due 31 March each year and requires proof of minimum rental activity, inspection reports and current listing links. There is no automatic renewal, and two verified violations in twelve months can block one. Penalties run up to $2,500 per day and unpaid penalties become a lien on the property after ninety days.
Note for anyone researching the history: the ballot measure that produced the zoning restriction was Measure M in November 2018. The lottery that is often mentioned was a one time process, and the licenses that were not selected sunset in April 2019. Current intake is first come, first served against the cap.
Rules current as of August 2026 and subject to change. This is a summary for owners, not legal advice. We confirm the current position with the jurisdiction before advising on any specific property.
Where we work in Pacific Grove.
Asilomar and the beach tract, Candy Cane Lane, the Retreat, Country Club Heights, downtown Lighthouse, Ransford, and the Forest Hill area.
Who rents here.
Naval Postgraduate School faculty and students, hospital and Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula staff, marine science researchers, and long tenured local professionals. Median gross rent is $2,455, and the market for well kept Victorians and beach tract cottages is consistently tight.
What we charge in Pacific Grove.
10% of collected rent per month plus a 30% leasing fee for annual tenancies. Furnished and short term management is quoted separately. No setup fee, no renewal fee, and zero markup on any vendor invoice. The full schedule is published on our pricing page, which is more than almost any firm in this market will show you.
Pacific Grove questions.
Do I need a property manager in Pacific Grove?
If you hold a short term rental license and do not live within thirty minutes of the property by vehicle, yes. The city requires either owner proximity or a property manager, with a site manager reachable 24 hours a day. For annual unfurnished tenancies there is no such requirement, though the compliance load still argues for one.
Can I still get a short term rental license?
Possibly. The cap is 250 city wide and roughly 84 are active, so there is headroom under the cap, but the property must sit in a Coastal or Commercial zone and clear the 55 foot exclusion and block density tests. Most residential Pacific Grove addresses do not qualify on zoning alone.
When does my license renew?
31 March annually. Renewal requires proof of minimum rental activity, inspection documentation and current listing hyperlinks. Nothing renews automatically, and a missed deadline puts the license back into the queue.
What should your property actually earn?
A written rental analysis, delivered within one business day. Real leased comparables, the fee you would pay in dollars, and a straight recommendation.
- Recommended rent, supported by comparables rather than an online estimate
- What a furnished thirty day tenancy would produce at your address
- Current market value, using Sotheby's comparable sales
- An honest answer, including if the answer is that you should not hire us
Request your analysis
Free, and no sales sequence afterward.