If your leasing application process is thorough and well thought out, and if your lease agreement has been well drafted by your local attorney and if it includes clauses that permit you/your property manager enough latitude to maneuver and anticipate undesirable tenant behaviors, both actions and inactions, and you have operational processes which align with enforcement of your lease, then you've done all you can do to reduce this inherent risk of an undesirable tenant.  

You could also call the city's code enforcement department and ask them their regulations on short term rentals. 

Just because they included that clause in their contract doesn't make it enforceable. 

However, to be enforceable and withstand legal challenge, it can only be used AFTER a default has occurred.  

Code enforcement is now telling me I only have a 3 unit property, so I have to kick my tenant out of the newly upgraded unit.  

I always get a notice to pay for the "Proactive Rental Enforcement Program" https://www.santa-ana.org/prep-program/. 

Learn the lawsDon't use a contract "off the internet", laws vary by state and are also regulated on a federal level Learn the financing techniques correctlyDon’t skip parts of the processDon’t ever do a “kitchen table” closingUse the proper deedAn attorney can help you with the legal work, but the rest you are on your ownYour guru will not bail you out“Investing” in someone else’s deal by providing a small 2nd loan so the “investor” can pay for “cash to the seller” and for “closing costs” so he can do the deal is a very bad planKnow what problems can ariseLearn the responses and solutions to problems before they are needed Know everything there is to know about Title and what that meansKnow who a "protected class" individual isLearn the "back doors"Learn human natureUnderstand timelinesUnderstand regulation enforcement (some of these "mistakes" have a 10 year statue of limitations ( they can charge you 10 years AFTER you do the transaction) and carry hefty fines and possible imprisonmentThe court doesn't accept "I didn't know" for an answer"Know that the source of the lead plays a serious role in some states and federallyKnow how much of a "profit" pushes the boundaries to invite an investigationYou can be sued by the seller if you don’t do things correctlyYou are automatically at fault if an investigator or attorney or regulator gets involved.

@James Wise it was always illegal, it's the DAs refusal to prosecute and the LE refusal to enforce is what brough this retail apocalypse on CA cities... 

But I find from personal experience and from my buyers' Airbnb experience that it's a bit of a hassle trying to get guests to rebook at the new listing.I don't know how strict Joshue Tree is at enforcement, but in Denver and Colorado Springs here, you could probably get away with an STR listing for three months without the license.

I actually used to have a game modeled after Monopoly that was called Slumlord😂 same type of antics with buying property, maintenance cards, dealing with code enforcement etc… Bought it at a real estate convention