A Del Mar house that is rented for part of the year lives two lives. In the quiet months it rests, often with nobody inside for weeks. In the busy months it hosts a rotation of guests who don’t know which step creaks or which door sticks after a damp night. Neither life is hard on a well-built house. The transitions between them are where small structural matters tend to slip past unnoticed.
What follows is a measured routine for owners who rent, whether for a summer, a race meet or a few weeks at a time. It complements our remote owner’s checklist, which is written for the months you’re away. This piece is about the edges of the rental season.
A note on the rules, briefly
The City of Del Mar now has a short-term rental permit program. According to the City, the Coastal Commission certified the regulations in early 2026, which put the ordinance into effect, and approved permits run for two years with renewal after that. The City’s page says permits for new operators are limited by a citywide cap, with a waitlist. Rules apply within City of Del Mar limits; Del Mar Heights and Carmel Valley addresses fall under the City of San Diego.
Permits and rental terms are a planning matter, not a structural one. We mention them only because a rental calendar tends to set the rhythm for everything below. Confirm current requirements with the City directly.
Before the season: the deck and everything attached to it
Decks and balconies carry the most change in a rental. Gatherings are larger, furniture moves around, and someone always leans on the rail for a photograph.
The 2025 California Residential Code sets the design live load for exterior balconies and decks at 60 pounds per square foot, and requires guards to resist a concentrated load of 200 pounds. Those are design values for new work, and an older deck may have been built to an earlier standard. What matters for a pre-season check is simpler: does the structure still behave as built?
Walk it slowly and note:
- Guards and rails. Push firmly at several points. Any movement at a post base deserves a closer look.
- The ledger. Where the deck meets the house, look for gaps, rust streaks below fasteners, or staining on the siding.
- Posts and footings. Check the bottom of each post for softness and for soil or sand piled against wood.
- Stairs. Treads should not flex or rock. Stringers should sit firmly at the bottom.
- Connectors. Hangers and post bases near the ocean side often show the first rust.
Our salt-air corrosion page covers what coastal air does to concrete and embedded steel nearby.
Before the season: water that guests will add
Rentals add water in places owners rarely think about. Outdoor showers rinse sand off every afternoon. Hot tubs splash and get drained. Hoses get left running on the side yard.
Ahead of the season, trace where that water goes. An outdoor shower that drains against the foundation will soak the same corner all summer. A hot tub drained onto a slope or into a crawl space vent does the same in one evening. Redirect what you can and leave clear instructions for the property manager.
Section R304.1 of the residential code lists places where wood must be naturally durable or preservative-treated because it sits close to soil or concrete, including framing that rests on exterior foundation walls less than 8 inches from exposed ground. A summer of shower runoff against a sill plate is how that protection gets tested.
Before the season: a look under the floor
If the house has a crawl space, open it before guests arrive. Section R408.2 of the code calls for vent openings around the under-floor space, with one near each outside corner. Clear any that have been blocked by stored chairs, kayaks or beach gear. Look for standing water, damp soil and fresh droppings. Note the date and take photographs so the post-season visit has something to compare against.
After the season: read what the summer left
The post-season walk is the more revealing one. You are looking for change.
- Interior. Doors that now rub, new cracks at window corners, and floor tile that has cracked near the slider.
- Decks. Rail movement that wasn’t there in spring; loose stair treads; new rust at fasteners.
- Exterior walls. Stucco cracks near downspouts and the outdoor shower; staining low on the walls.
- Crawl space. Damp soil where it was dry; new efflorescence on stem walls; wet insulation.
- Grounds. Settled pavers, washed-out soil under a hose bib, and sand built up against the house.
Compare each item with your spring photographs. A crack you documented in May that hasn’t changed by September is a different matter from one that appeared over the summer.
After the season: prepare for winter
Late season is also the window before winter storms. Clear gutters and confirm downspouts discharge away from the foundation. In North Beach and other low-lying streets, check that flood openings in enclosures are clear. Our post on Del Mar’s sea-level rise adaptation plan explains why low-lying parts of town receive particular attention.
Our beachfront concrete calendar offers a fuller seasonal schedule for coastal concrete.
Keep a two-page record for each season
Owners who rent benefit from a simple, repeatable file:
- pre-season date, photographs and notes for decks, stairs, crawl space and drainage
- instructions given to the property manager about water and gear
- any guest-reported issues, with dates
- post-season date, photographs and notes, compared item by item
- follow-up actions and who handled them
That file serves you well at renewal time, when selling, and whenever a question arises about when something started.
When to bring in a professional
Some findings belong on a list for next season. Others shouldn’t wait: a guard that moves, a ledger pulling away, a stair that rocks, a crack that is widening, or a crawl space that stays wet. Repairs to structural elements generally involve permits through the City’s Building Services, which accepts building applications electronically.
Our second-home structural monitoring service is built around exactly this kind of before-and-after record, and a foundation inspection establishes a baseline if you haven’t had one. We coordinate with licensed engineers as needed when a deck, balcony or foundation question calls for design.
What shapes scope, if repair follows, is usually the extent of the issue, access around an occupied rental calendar, the condition of connectors and framing, drainage corrections, and permit requirements.
To arrange a discreet pre-season or post-season visit anywhere in Del Mar, request a Free Quote.