Airbnbs In LA Must Now Get The City's Approval

The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to pass long-awaited regulations on short-term rentals, effectively limiting the number of units rented out through Airbnb.

Under the regulations, hosts are only allowed to rent out their primary residence. Each unit can be rented out for a maximum of 120 days per year, and hosts are required to register with the city and pay a fee.

Tuesday's vote comes on the heels of long, drawn-out and hotly contested deliberations over the fate of short-term rentals in Los Angeles. Some city officials and residents wanted to limit hosts' ability to rent homes or apartments that they weren't living in -- known as vacation rentals -- while companies like Airbnb wanted hosts to retain that option. Still more residents were concerned about the impact of having tourists traipsing through their neighborhoods and, some claimed, holding loud parties at their Airbnbs.

Under the new rules, hosts must submit an application to the city in order to register their unit for short-term renting and pay an $89 fee. If hosts are renting the unit they intend to put on the short-term market, they'll need to get and submit approval from their landlord.

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Registration for short-term renting is good for one year, after which point hosts must pay another $89 renewal fee.

The new rules also stipulate that no more than two guests are allowed per room (other than a kitchen, and kids aren't included in that number) and that guests can't use any "sound amplifying equipment," presumably to prevent so-called party houses from popping up around the city.

Affordable housing units and rent stabilized units aren't eligible to become short-term rentals.

The regulations go into effect on July 1, 2019.

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