LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Council directed staff on Tuesday to explore proposals to improve enforcement of its home-sharing ordinance and residential hotel policies.
In a 12-0 vote, the City Council members instructed relevant departments to report on the personnel and funding needed to enforce regulations against illegal, unregistered home-sharing activity. Council members Bob Blumenfield, John Lee and Monica Rodriguez were absent during the vote.
Additionally, staff will explore establishing a private right of action, which could allow residents to pursue lawsuits against homeowners, who offer their property as short-term rentals and violate the city's regulations.
In 2021, Councilwoman Nithya Raman introduced a motion seeking to address issues with enforcement of the city's ordinance. It was backed by Councilman Bob Blumenfield and former members Mike Bonin, Paul Koretz and Kevin de León.
Four years later, the city is moving forward with potential solutions. Raman, who represents the Fourth District, said her constituents have been "particularly impacted." She stated they have the highest volumes of both permitted and illegal home-sharing activity, which has caused quality of life issues.
Some of these illegal home-sharing activities resulted in challenges with party houses, unauthorized event spaces and commercial ventures such as large yoga retreats and clothing boutiques. It also led to cases of violent crime and homicides in past years, according to Raman.
"...These rentals have a destabilizing effect in our communities," Raman said. "They take your neighbors away and they remove affordable and protected rent-stabilized units from the long-term housing market, which is bad for LA."
Since the Home-Sharing Ordinance took effect in 2019, there's been challenges with enforcement due to poor communications between departments and weak guardrails against bad actors, Raman noted. The law regulates home-sharing through Airbnb, among other methods.
"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."
The councilwoman described the recommendations to improve enforcement as "smaller remedies" crafted by the Housing and Homelessness Committee and city staff.
These proposals aim to create a database for permit and citation information on a public portal so it's easier to file complaints and submit evidence. The Los Angeles Housing Department, or LAHD, has requested 18 new positions to help with issuing citations, conducting investigations and other responsibilities.
City officials also requested more staff to aid the City Attorney's Office with hearings and nuisance cases, which could lead to more revenue for enforcement.
The city may increase fines as well, per square footage of improvement or use in violation. For example, 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, and subsequent fines would be doubled.
A combination of departments provide oversight of the ordinance with city planning collecting and monitoring data through a system known as Granicus, and managing applications and registration; the city attorney's office leading the citation program; and the housing department assuming the majority of enforcement-related duties.
City planning is expected to hand off more of the responsibility to LAHD.
In a report, the housing department has stated it does not have the necessary staffing and resources to effectively enforce the ordinance.
In the current fiscal year, city officials approved a limited number of overtime hours, allowing LAHD staff to investigate complaints and issue citations to violators. In part, some of these citations were related to late-night party houses.
As of October 2024, approximately 300 administrative citations were referred to LAHD for enforcement, according to a report. However, housing staff estimate there are 7,500 home-sharing violators.
A dedicated team within LAHD also regulates residential hotels, ensuring there's no advertising for short-term rental use, addresses complaints and provides routine inspections and investigations.
On Tuesday, 40-year resident Chris Murphy encouraged the City Council to drop some of these proposed enforcement measures. Murphy owns a home in the Hollywood Hills, which he has shared with other families through Airbnb.
"I'm proud to be a super host, providing a welcoming space for families who otherwise couldn't afford to stay in Los Angeles. This isn't just about money," Murphy said. "It's about offering families an affordable option to visit our city."
He added, "I urge you to distinguish hosts like me form those who abuse the system. We deserve a fair chance to continue making positive contributions to our city."
Iris Craige, a member of Strategic Actions for a Just Economy, thanked council members for protecting renters and strengthening the ordinance.
"Stabilizing housing is a critical step in ensuring that long term residents can remain in their homes," Craige said. "By moving forward with these recommendations, the council has taken a meaningful step to ensure the home-sharing ordinance is a tool for protecting not undermining our rental housing stock."
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