Ordinance History:
On July 1, 2019, the Los Angeles home sharing ordinance went into effect. The city’s planning department has put together a detailed FAQ on the home-sharing ordinance with more information on how to register and pay fees before enforcement of the regulations begin on November 1, 2019.
- Hosts must register with the city planning department and pay an $89 fee. According to the city planning department, enforcement will begin November 1, 2019.
- Only the host’s primary residence can be rented out, defined as the place where a host lives for at least six months per year.
- Renters can’t home-share without prior written approval of their landlord.
- Stabilized (aka “rent-controlled”) units are not eligible for home-sharing, even if you own your own RSO unit.
- Hosts may not register for or operate more than one home-sharing rental unit at a time in the city.
- Hosts cannot home-share for more than 120 days in a calendar year, unless they have registered with the city for “extended home-sharing.”
- The “extended home-sharing” option allows hosts to rent out residences for an unlimited number of days. To get approval from the city, hosts have to pay an $850 fee. To qualify, they need to be registered with the city for at least six months or hosted for at least 60 days. Hosts who have received a citation in the past three years will be disqualified, unless they pay a $5,660 fee to have their case reviewed.
- Non-residential buildings and temporary structures are not eligible for home-sharing; that includes vehicles parked on the property as well as storage sheds, trailers, yurts, and tents.
- Hosts are responsible for providing a Code of Conduct to all guests with rules about amplified sound and “evening outdoor congregations.”
On December 11, 2018, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted to approve the home-sharing ordinance, imposing new rules on renting out rooms and homes for short stays. Under the new rules, Angelenos can host such rentals only in their “primary residence,” defined as the place where they live at least half of the year. Hosts must register with the city, pay lodging taxes, keep records for city inspection, and make sure they have working smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and information on emergency exits, among other requirements. Hosts can offer their homes for short stays of up to 120 days annually. Angelenos cannot list rent-stabilized units for short-term stays on platforms like Airbnb and Homeaway.
On May 2, 2018, the Los Angeles City Council’s Housing Committee adopted several amendments to the home-sharing ordinance. The committee imposed regulations to permit home-sharing of primary residences for no more than 180 days a year and for periods of 30 consecutive days or less. Amendments also established an application fee, a registration requirement, and administrative fines for home-sharing; and direct Transient Occupancy Taxes derived from Home-Sharing to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and a new Short-Term Rental Enforcement Trust Fund.
On June 13, 2017, the Los Angeles City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) committee held a hearing on the proposed home-sharing ordinance. This hearing largely featured testimony dealing with the proposed 180-day cap. City planners say the vast majority of hosts — 92 percent — rent for less than 180 days. Chair José Huizar said city officials would study the testimony and meet again on the regulations by late July or early August. The committee’s recommendation on the proposed ordinance would then be sent to the full council.
On December 7, 2016, the Los Angeles City Council’s Housing Committee adopted several amendments to the home-sharing ordinance. The committee removed the 15-day allowance for non-primary resident vacation rentals and clarified the prohibition of rent controlled units being used for STR.
On July 18, 2016, the City of Los Angeles and Airbnb announced that they had reached a deal to allow Airbnb to start collecting and remitting lodging taxes from rental hosts. The deal, which was worked out with city budget and tax officials, would go into effect in August 2016.
On April 15, 2016, the Los Angeles Department of City Planning released the proposed Home-Sharing Ordinance (HSO), which addresses the issue of short-term rentals in the City of Los Angeles. The proposed ordinance will legalize home-sharing while banning rentals of whole properties.
On June 2, 2015, Los Angeles City Councilmember’s Mike Bonin and Herb Wesson introduced a motion to regulate the use of short-term rentals in the City of Los Angeles. The motion has been filed in Council File: 14-1635-S2.
On June 23, 2016, the City of Los Angeles Planning Commission voted 5 to 4 to back the proposed home-sharing ordinance. During the meeting, the commission opted to increase the proposed cap on how often short-term rentals were allowed to 180 days annually, from the proposed 90 days in the original draft. Additionally, the Planning Commission also voted to allow people to rent out other kinds of property for short stays — such as a second home — for a maximum of 15 days a year. Hosts would have to collect the same kind of lodging taxes as hotels and register with the city. If they failed to register, they could be fined at least $500 a day. And renting out a room, apartment or house for more days than the city allows could mean a fine of at least $2,000 a day. The Planning Commission also asked city lawyers to draft a “three strikes” rule to suspend rental hosts who repeatedly violated the rules. Furthermore, Airbnb and other short-term rental platforms could be fined $1,000 a day for refusing to turn over the addresses of rentals that had not registered with the city. The websites also would be required to regularly provide host names and addresses and detail how long guests had stayed and what they had paid. With the passage of the home-sharing ordinance by the planning commission.
City Reports:
05/02/2018: Updated Draft Home Sharing Ordinance as amended by the Housing Committee (Los Angeles Department of City Planning)
01/25/2017: Draft Home Sharing Ordinance as amended by the Housing Committee (Los Angeles Department of City Planning)
06/23/2016: Los Angeles Department of City Planning Recommendation Report (Los Angeles Department of City Planning)
04/15/2016: Draft Home Sharing Ordinance (Los Angeles Department of City Planning)
04/15/2016: Home Sharing Ordinance Quick Guide (Los Angeles Department of City Planning)
06/02/2015: Motion referred to Planning and Land Use Management Committee (City of Los Angeles)
05/08/2015: Application of Transient Occupancy Tax for Short-Term Rentals (CAO FileNo. 0220-05153-0000) (City of Los Angeles)
05/08/2015: The Sharing Economy: Focus on Short-Term Rentals (CAO FileNo. 0220-0513-0000) (City of Los Angeles)
Other Reports:
03/09/2017: Hosts with Multiple Units – A Key Driver of Airbnb Growth (CBRE)
03/07/2017: Airbnb Agreements with State and Local Tax Agencies (Dan R. Bucks)
02/07/2017: The Sharing Economy Checks In: An Analysis of Airbnb in the United States (CBRE)
01/19/2017: Airbnb: Generating $2.5 Billion in Potential Tax Revenue for America’s Cities (Airbnb)
08/30/2016: New Findings Show the Impact that Even a Low “Cap” on Homesharing Days Has on Los Angeles Neighborhoods and Affordable Housing (Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy)
03/31/2016: From Air Mattresses to Unregulated Business, An Analysis of the Other Side of Airbnb Spotlight Region: Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, California (Pennsylvania State University School of Hospitality Management)
09/29/2015: Housing & The Airbnb Community in the City of Los Angeles (Airbnb)
08/24/2015: Short-Term Rentals and L.A.’s Lost Housing (Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy)
03/11/2015: Airbnb, Rising Rent, and the Housing Crisis in Los Angeles (Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy)
12/04/2014: Airbnb’s positive impact in Los Angeles (Airbnb)
Community Impact Statements:
07/23/2017: Los Feliz Neighborhood Council
06/12/2017: Central Hollywood Neighborhood Council
06/12/2017: Westwood Neighborhood Council
03/27/2017: Glassell Park Neighborhood Council
03/16/2017: South Robertson Neighborhood Council
11/16/2016: Bel Air-Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council
10/19/2016: Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council
09/16/2016: Encino Neighborhood Council
08/05/2016: Bel Air-Beverly Crest Neighborhood
06/10/2016: Westside Neighborhood Council
04/13/2016: West Hills Neighborhood Council
03/11/2016: Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council
01/07/2016: NC Westchester/Playa
11/13/2015: Mar Vista Community Council
10/27/2015: Pacific Palisades Neighborhood Council
10/16/2015: Venice Neighborhood Council
10/09/2015: Venice Neighborhood Council
10/08/2015: Brentwood Neighborhood Council
08/21/2015: Bel Air-Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council
News:
10/15/19: It took Los Angeles years to adopt rules for Airbnb. Don’t delay them now. (Los Angeles Times)
7/01/2019: LA’s new Airbnb rules are now in effect—here’s what you need to know (Curbed)
12/20/2018: Don’t dilute the Airbnb rules (Los Angeles Times)
12/11/2018: L.A. approves new rules for Airbnb-type rentals after years of debate (Los Angeles Times)
05/05/2018: L.A. just took a big step toward regulating Airbnb stays – here’s what new short-term rental laws could mean for hosts and travelers (Business Insider)
05/02/2018: Los Angeles moves to regulate Airbnb rentals (Los Angeles Times)
07/20/2017: House-rich, cash-poor: why these older LA homeowners are standing with Airbnb (Southern California Public Radio)
06/14/2017: Airbnb, short-term rental restrictions draw hundreds to LA council debate (Southern California Public Radio)
06/13/2017: Hundreds attend LA hearing on regulation of Airbnb-style short-term rentals (Los Angeles Daily News)
06/13/2017: Editorial Legalize Airbnb (Los Angeles Times)
06/08/2017: Airbnb in LA: Should rental days be capped? (Southern California Public Radio)
06/07/2017: LA Airbnb Hosts Air Concerns About Potential Restrictions (CBS Los Angeles)
05/15/2017: Income from LA’s Airbnb Tax at War with Nervous Neighborhood Interests (City Watch LA)
05/03/2017: With Garcetti’s budget relying on millions from Airbnb, will L.A. still clamp down on short-term rentals? (Los Angeles Times)
04/21/2017: Don’t buy Airbnb’s claim that L.A. would lose millions under new regulations (Los Angeles Times)
04/18/2017: Airbnb warns that L.A.’s budget could suffer from restricting short-term rentals (Los Angeles Times)
02/09/2017: Former rent-controlled apartments in Hollywood are razed amid protests and bureaucratic confusion (Los Angeles Times)
01/19/2017: New Airbnb taxes have generated $13M—some of it’s helping house LA’s homeless (Curbed Los Angeles)
12/23/2016: LA mayor’s spokeswoman leaves for Airbnb (Los Angeles Daily News)
12/16/2016: Nearly half of all California Airbnb renters stay in Los Angeles (Curbed Los Angeles)
11/16/2016: Labor union members protest affordable housing loss as an Airbnb conference starts (Los Angeles Times)
10/24/2016: Airbnb backs a campaign to build homeless housing in L.A. with a $100,000 donation (Los Angeles Times)
09/27/2016: Who was the biggest winner from the Rams’ opening weekend? Airbnb hosts (Los Angeles Daily News)
09/07/2016: Airbnb launches ad campaign to woo Los Angeles (Curbed Los Angeles)
09/07/2016: Airbnb launches ad campaign to woo Los Angeles (Curbed Los Angeles)
08/30/2016: Los Angeles Airbnb rentals should be capped at 83 nights yearly, study says (Curbed Los Angeles)
08/19/2016: Coalition asks L.A. not to collect Airbnb taxes (Los Angeles Wave)
08/16/2016: Labor groups cry foul at Airbnb’s agreement to pay hotel taxes (City News Service)
07/18/2016: Airbnb strikes deal with L.A. to collect millions in lodging taxes (Los Angeles Times)
07/18/2016: Airbnb Agrees To Collect Hotel Taxes In Another Huge U.S. City (Fortune)
06/23/2016: L.A. takes step toward new rules on short-term rentals (Los Angeles Times)
06/23/2016: Planning Commission backs LA’s first regulations on Airbnb (Southern California Public Radio)
06/23/2016: Los Angeles Is a Big Step Closer to Regulating Airbnb (Curbed Los Angeles)
06/23/2016: City Planning Commission Approves Limits on Short-Term Rentals (Los Angeles Business Journal)
06/22/2016: How to regulate Airbnb and ‘homesharing’ (Los Angeles Times)
06/20/2016: L.A. apartment owners charged with allegedly evicting tenants, then renting their units via Airbnb (Los Angeles Times)
06/20/2016: Los Angeles City Attorney turns up heat on short-term rental hosts (Southern California Public Radio)
05/27/2016: Could Los Angeles effectively regulate Airbnb? (The Real Deal)
04/15/2015: L.A. plan would demand Airbnb hand over information so city can track down illegal rentals (Los Angeles Times)
04/15/2015: Los Angeles plans crackdown on Airbnb — and its hosts (Southern California Public Radio)
11/16/2015: Fresh off Bay Area victory, tech giant Airbnb may set sights on L.A. (Los Angeles Times)
11/06/2015: Airbnb has spent more than $200,000 on lobbying efforts in LA (Southern California Public Radio)
09/30/2015: SoCal Residents In Debate Over Short-Term Rentals (NBC Los Angeles)
09/30/2015: No surprise: That Airbnb study of rentals in L.A. isn’t what it seems (Los Angeles Times)
09/29/2015: Airbnb fights back, says it isn’t hurting L.A. housing (Los Angeles Times)
09/26/2015: Residents want L.A. to do more to enforce short-term rental regulations (Los Angeles Times)
09/03/2015: Spurred on by conflict over Airbnb, L.A. struggles to define ‘bad’ short-term rentals (Los Angeles Times)
08/25/2015: L.A. officials want to keep Airbnb-type rentals from being ‘rogue hotels’ (Los Angeles Times)
08/24/2015: Scrutiny of short-term rentals in LA exposes industry rift (Southern California Public Radio)
08/24/2015: Short-Term Rentals Are Taking 11 Units Off the LA Rental Market Every Day (Curbed Los Angeles)
08/19/2015: Why Venice Beach Is Ground Zero for The Airbnb Backlash (Los Angeles Weekly)