The Brief

Airbnb hosts and other short term rental owners in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County could soon be barred from renting out properties they don’t live in under proposed rules advanced by the Board of Supervisors.

The board voted unanimously Tuesday to craft a new ordinance regulating short-term rentals. The decision comes after years of debate and research by the board. The county regulations were first proposed back in 2019.

Proponents of regulating activity on platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo say the rules will put homes back on the market for L.A. residents increasingly struggling to find affordable housing.

“Short-term rentals bring with them a wealth of negative consequences,” said Randy Renick, executive director of the advocacy group Better Neighbors L.A., in an interview with LAist. “They push up rents. They make homes unaffordable. They bring crime into neighborhoods. They unsettle the peace and quiet of residential streets. And it's encouraging that the county is finally teeing this up for a vote.”

During Tuesday’s lengthy and at times contentious public hearing, many hosts said the proposed rules are too strict.

Some homeowners said they would be prevented from earning income by renting out backyard granny flats, even while they’re living in the main house. Others said they pride themselves on providing affordable accommodations to travelers.

Topanga resident Nonie Shore said visitors rent her property to enjoy the beauty of the Santa Monica mountains. This area, she said, “is a tourist destination for many who cannot afford a decent hotel room… Homeowners in Topanga should be able to rent out their structures safely.”

LAist reached out to Airbnb and Vrbo for comment, but did not immediately hear back.

How the proposed regulations would work

The rules — which still need a subsequent vote before taking effect — would apply to unincorporated areas, not to L.A. County’s 88 incorporated cities. About 1 million county residents live in areas that would be subject to the new proposals, such as East Los Angeles, Altadena and Ladera Heights.

The proposed regulations would require hosts to register with the county every year. Hosts would only be allowed to list their primary residence. Renting out investment properties or second homes would be prohibited.

Under the original draft of the rules, hosts would also be prevented from renting out accessory dwelling units on their property. On Tuesday, supervisors voted to advance an amendment that would allow hosts to rent out a primary residence to guests while they stay in the secondary unit.

The proposed rules would allow hosts to rent their homes for up to 90 nights per year “unhosted,” meaning while they are not physically present in the home. Beyond that limit, they would be required to be on site during their guests’ stays.

During Tuesday’s hearing, the supervisors debated whether a proposed annual registration fee of $914 was too expensive for lower-income homeowners hoping to earn extra income renting out their homes. They said they plan to further discuss options in subsequent votes for mitigating the cost to certain homeowners.

Residents weigh in 

During public comment, many speakers said short-term rentals have taken much-need homes off the long-term rental market. Others said their neighborhoods have been disrupted by raucous, and at times violent party homes. Over the weekend, Los Angeles police said two people were shot at a Hollywood Hills home that had been rented out for a Super Bowl party.

Other public commenters urged the Board of Supervisors to ease or provide exceptions to the proposed regulations, saying they rely on short-term rental income.

“Many elderly and low-income people rent a small space in their homes in order to pay the increasing costs of living, insurance, taxes, etc.,” Susanna Dadd submitted in a written public comment.

The view from City Terrace

In an interview with LAist, Luz Loza said short-term rentals have drastically changed her neighborhood. Loza grew up in the hilly unincorporated area of City Terrace, a largely working class Latino neighborhood famous for its views of the downtown L.A. skyline. She now owns the home where she was raised.

“We knew everybody around here. Everybody was a homeowner,” Loza said. “Now, we don't know practically anybody that lives around here.”

Loza said her home is now surrounded by short-term rentals. A number of those properties are owned by the same person, Loza said, who is rarely on site to address problems with disruptive guests.

“We have so many people that come in and out of this place, we feel our safety is at risk,” Loza said. “My grandson experiences seeing them use drugs, bathing nude… They just don't take into consideration that we have to get up and work early.”

Tourists are flocking to City Terrace to enjoy the neighborhood’s scenic vistas, Loza said, but young adults hoping to maintain their roots in the neighborhood can’t find affordable homes.

“A lot of people like this place. We have such a beautiful view,” Loza said. City Terrace residents “want to invest and live in this area, but there's nothing available for them.”

Lessons from the city of L.A.

The county’s proposed rules would not be the first of their kind in the L.A. area. The city of Los Angeles began enforcing its own home-sharing ordinance in 2019. Under those rules, hosts can be fined $500 for each day they post a listing that breaks the law, or up to $2,000 per day if they rent units for more than 120 days per year without the city’s permission.

Proponents of the city’s rules say corporate hosts returned thousands of rent-controlled apartments to L.A.’s long-term housing stock after the regulations took effect. But they also admit enforcement has been spotty, and illegal short-term rental activity remains common.

A 2022 study from a McGill University urban planning professor found that nearly half of listings on Airbnb and Vrbo at the time appeared to violate the city’s home sharing ordinance. Despite the widespread illegal rentals, fines levied by the city have been limited. Since November 2019, the city has issued 1,083 citations and levied about $920,000 in fines, according to a spokesperson from the city’s Planning Department.

If ultimately passed, the county’s rules would take effect 180 days after a final vote by the Board of Supervisors.

Most Southern California renters continue to struggle to find housing they can afford. An important — and for some, possibly life-changing — option opened up on Monday for low-income residents.

The Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA) began accepting applicants for its waitlist for public housing for a limited time.

Tracie Mann, the chief of programs for LACDA, said the waitlist was last open in April 2024.

“We need to refresh the list, get new families who are interested in applying, not only to our family sites, but also to our senior sites,” she said.

Mann said she expects more people to apply now because of the sharp rise in the cost of living.

“We know that housing is a serious need here within the region of Los Angeles County, and having LACDA in a position to be able to offer public housing units to those most in need is just so… critical,” she said.

The rent in these county-owned and managed units is generally capped at 30% of a household’s gross income. That limit helps families build savings, said  Justin Fitzsimmons, a lawyer with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles.

“It is a really valuable resource and can be a great opportunity for people to be able to build wealth in this economy and set up their generations in the future,” he said.

Orchard Arms is a public housing property with 183 units in Valencia. It's reserved for seniors.

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Courtesy Los Angeles County Development Authority

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It’s common, Fitzsimmons said, to see clients come to his office for legal help after a life event, such as an accident or major illness that has depleted their savings.

"Public housing is a really wonderful opportunity for a person to help to weather those events that life throws your way," he said.

The waitlist application window opened at 8 a.m. Monday and is set to close at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16.

Here’s who qualifies and how to apply

To qualify, families must be earning significantly less than the median income in L.A. County. There are different tiers, Mann said, including 30% and 50% of that median income.

People in L.A. County will fall below the 50% threshold if they earn up to $58,300 per year. Families of four will meet the cutoff if they earn no more than $83,300 per year.

Follow this link for more information about how to apply. If you’ve already registered with LACDA, you can apply at this link.

South Bay Gardens is a public housing property with 100 units in South Los Angeles.

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Courtesy Los Angeles County Development Authority

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You can seek help with your application by calling LACDA at (626) 586-1522 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

LACDA staff also helps people complete their online applications in person at their offices in Alhambra. Their address is 700 W. Main St., Alhambra.

Location, location, location

LACDA oversees public housing on 68 properties for more than 6,600 residents. The agency is opening up wait list registration at only 16 of those sites. Thinking about which location to apply to is important because if you apply to a location and you don’t accept the unit that you’re offered, you will be removed from the waiting list until it opens back up.

People leave public housing units for various reasons, Mann said, such as moving outside the county, finding another apartment or facing eviction. She said LACDA’s public housing program averages 300 vacancies per year. Wait times can be months or longer, depending on vacancies at each property.

Applications for the smaller properties will be capped at 1,000 applications, and their waitlists will close early if that threshold is reached before Sept. 16.

You can find more information about the 16 sites opening their waitlists at this link.

Los Angeles Lakers governor Jeanie Buss is legally contesting her siblings’ plan to sell the family’s remaining 17.8% minority ownership stake in the team to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, according to a letter obtained Monday by the Associated Press.

ESPN and The Athletic first reported that the siblings had voted to sell the family trust’s remaining interest in the 17-time NBA champion team purchased by their father, Jerry Buss, in 1979. The decision would end Jeanie Buss’ tenure as the Lakers’ governor because that job requires at least 15% ownership of the team.

Jeannie Buss’ attorney, Adam Streisand, wrote to representatives for her five siblings to state that any decision to sell the family trust’s ownership stake could not be “effectuated without approval of the current co-trustees, Jeanie, Janie and Joey Buss.”

The letter further states that the co-trustees “are bound to vote the Los Angeles Lakers, Inc. shares to ensure that the minimum 15% ownership requirement is maintained in order to ensure that Jeanie Buss may remain Controlling Owner. Any attempt by the co-trustees to do otherwise, and any attempt to aid or abet the co-trustees as such, would constitute a breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty and be in contempt of court.”

Jeanie Buss has been the Lakers’ governor since Jerry Buss’ death in 2013, and she led the family’s decision to sell a controlling stake in the Lakers to Dodgers owner Mark Walter last year at a valuation of $10 billion. Walter, who is under federal investigation for tax issues, abruptly reached a deal earlier this month to flip the Lakers to Kushner and Iger at a valuation of $12.5 billion, another record for a pro sports team.

Venture capitalist Kushner and former Disney CEO Iger are reportedly buying about 65% of the team from Walter. They would own about 83% if they reach a deal with the Buss siblings — and Jeanie Buss would lose the governor role that she had been slated to keep at least through 2030 under the deal with Walter.

Sibling rivalry

The siblings have been in frequent conflict since their father’s death, with Jeanie firing Jim from his job as the Lakers’ head of basketball operations in 2017, followed a week later with a lawsuit against her brothers amid an attempt by Jim and Johnny to oust Jeanie from her role as the Lakers’ controlling owner.

Not all of the six Buss siblings — Jeanie, Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse — were in favor of the deal despite retaining their family trust’s minority ownership stake, and Joey and Jesse were fired from their front-office jobs with the team last November.

The siblings say they voted this month to sell their family’s remaining interest in the Lakers, but Jeanie Buss claims any vote is void. ESPN reported that Jeanie Buss was the only sibling who didn’t support the final sale.

“We have decided as a family to sell the remaining Buss Family Trust shares to the Bob Iger group as part of the ongoing transaction,” the Buss family said in a statement. “We love the Lakers, Laker fans and will continue to support Los Angeles, but it is time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can.”

In his letter, Streisand said Joey and Jesse Buss have leaked information to ESPN for many years “for the malicious purpose of doing harm to the Los Angeles Lakers so long as Dr. Buss’s chosen successor, Jeanie Buss, carries out her father’s wishes.”

Jerry Buss was a chemist and real estate investor who bought the Lakers, the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and the Forum arena from Jack Kent Cooke for $67.5 million. The Lakers quickly entered a renaissance in which they became known for their flashy “Showtime” style of play while winning five NBA titles between 1980 and 1988 behind Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

While the NBA and professional sports became increasingly more corporate, the Lakers remained essentially a family business despite their massive profile and steady success. Jerry Buss and the Lakers have employed many of the basketball world’s greatest players and coaches of the past five decades, and Kobe Bryant led the Lakers to five additional championships between 2000 and 2010 before LeBron James added the 17th in 2020.

The sale agreement with Kushner and Iger still must be approved by the NBA’s board of governors, and the process could take months.

Topline:

Cost-of-living: Latinos favored Democrats by 34% when it came to the question about who's better handling cost-of-living. “ It is the economy, cost of living and affordability that is, by a far measure, the issue driving Latino voters and Latino sentiments,” said Mike Madrid, Republican political consultant and founder of the Latino Working Class Project.

More support for Dems? No. This does not mean Latino voters are completely satisfied with how Democrats are running things in California.  "They are just as unhappy with Democrats,” said David Binder, founder of David Binder Research, which helped conduct the poll.

What this means for the gubernatorial race: An overwhelming amount of Latino voters are supporting Xavier Becerra over Steve Hilton, 72% to 24%.  ”If Xavier Becerra wins the election in November, it'll be incumbent upon him to prove that he is also working on behalf of Latino voters and all working class voters to help bring down costs and make things more affordable,” Binder said.