Four years after Los Angeles Council member Nithya Raman introduced a motion to clear out illegal, unregistered Airbnb and other short-term rental operations, the city may finally be cracking down.
The City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to explore how to increase enforcement of its home-sharing ordinance and residential hotel rules, City News Service reported.
The council directed city departments to report on how much money and people they would need to take action.
What’s not clear is why it took four years for Los Angeles to consider addressing the problem.
In 2021, Raman, a Democrat, introduced a motion seeking to address problems with cracking down on illegal home sharing, which she said were “destabilizing” neighborhoods. It was backed by fellow Democrats — Council member Bob Blumenfield and former Council members Mike Bonin, Paul Koretz and Kevin de León.
The reason: illegal home-sharing had ushered in party houses, unauthorized events, and large yoga retreats, clothing boutiques and other commercial ventures, according to Raman. They also led to violent crime and homicides.
Illegal home-sharing operations also buck up against legal brick-and-mortar businesses, allowing illegal advantages against tenants who rent commercial storefronts, from yoga studios to banquet halls.
Illegal rentals “take your neighbors away and they remove affordable and protected rent-stabilized units from the long-term housing market, which is bad for L.A.,” Raman stated in her motion.
Raman said her constituents have been “particularly impacted.” The Fourth District, which she represents, had the highest volume of both permitted and illegal home-sharing, putting a dent in its quality of life.
Since the Home-Sharing Ordinance took effect in 2019, there have been problems with enforcement because of poor communication between departments and weak guardrails against bad landlords, Raman said.
The law regulates home-sharing through Airbnb, among other platforms.
“Good hosts go to extraordinary lengths to ensure they’re in compliance with our laws,” Raman said. “We should reward them and make sure that bad-faith hosts are treated with the appropriate enforcement actions.”
A property owner with a home of 2,500 to 5,000 square feet who has violated the ordinance would face a $3,000 penalty. Subsequent fines would be doubled.
The city may increase fines based on square footage of a rental in use during a violation.
Among the proposals to beef up enforcement is a public database for permit and citation information, making it easier to file complaints and submit evidence.
The Los Angeles Housing Department requested 18 new positions to help with investigations and issuing citations. As of October, about 300 administrative citations were referred to housing regulators, out of an estimated 7,500 home-sharing violators, according to a report.
City officials requested more staff to aid the City Attorney’s Office with hearings and nuisance cases, which could lead to more revenue for enforcement.
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