Short-Term Rentals in Los Angeles Drop Year-Over-Year

Short-term rental registrations across the L.A. region have dipped in what could be a perfect storm preventing the growth of such properties.

From last July to this July, there was a 6 percent decrease in active Home Sharing registrations in the city of Los Angeles, the L.A. Times reported. Last summer, there were 4,228, while they dipped to 3,972 last month.

Listings are also down for short-term rental, with Airbnb registering a 13 percent dip from July of last year, according to AllTheRooms data cited by the Times. Overall short-term rentals in the L.A. metro area fell 44 percent in the same period, according to the report.

While AirDNA reported an 8 percent increase in Airbnb and VRBO listings over the past year, listings have decreased since January in the areas affected by the deadly wildfires, falling 56 percent in Altadena, 36 percent in Pacific Palisades and 25 percent in Malibu, according to the Times.

Various factors could be to blame for the decrease in short-term rentals, including the fires as well as local ordinances seeking to crack down on the market.

In 2018, the City of Los Angeles passed the Home-Sharing Ordinance, which required hosts to get a license and restricted them to renting out only their primary residence. Between 2019 and 2023, listings dropped 70 percent, coinciding with the pandemic.

Last year, unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County became subject to the ordinance. It hasn’t been able to fully combat illegal listings, however.

As of October 2024, there were an estimated 7,500 violations of the Home-Sharing Ordinance, but only 300 citations, a report from the Los Angeles Housing Department last year said. In March, the L.A. City Council approved a plan to increase fines based on square footage and to send out a group of staffers to monitor and enforce violations. But last year’s budget didn’t provide for such provisions, leaving many of them unimplemented.

To avoid fines ranging toward $10,000 or more, some hosts are turning to mid-term rentals of 30 days or more to skirt short-term rental regulations, according to the Times. Mid-term rentals could present a widely untapped market for hosts across the L.A. area; last year Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb, called mid-term stays a “huge growth opportunity” for the rental platform.

— Chris Malone Méndez