LA officials say more city staff is needed to target thousands of illegal vacation rentals

Los Angeles officials tasked with enforcing the city’s years-old vacation rental rules said this week that illegal activity on booking websites remains widespread. Getting a handle on the problem before the arrival of major tourism events in L.A. like the 2028 Olympics will require a significant boost in staffing, they said.

L.A. Housing Department officials told the City Council’s housing committee on Wednesday that the department needs 18 additional inspectors and administrators to target hosts renting an estimated 7,500 homes to tourists illegally. Tenant advocates argue costs are rising for L.A. renters in part because hosts have taken these homes off the market.

The City Attorney’s Office said more officers are needed to oversee hearings for hosts who say they were cited improperly. Planning Department officials told the committee there are about twice as many properties listed on vacation rental websites as there are valid registrations.

Housing Committee chair Nithya Raman acknowledged that the city’s Home Sharing Ordinance — in place since 2019 — has failed to stop illegal bookings, leading to frequent complaints from neighbors about noise and unruly behavior in “party houses.” She also said hosts who follow the rules often face frustrating delays when seeking permits from the city.

“We are really trying to make this a better system for everyone,” Raman said. “We want to be able to remove unpermitted listings. We want to be able to identify bad actors… Our goal is also to make it easier for compliant hosts to operate their units.”

How we got here

Residents and city officials in L.A. have long expressed concern about activity on platforms like Airbnb and VRBO. Airbnb officials say they have created new compliance tools and have opened lines of communication with the city to make sure hosts are properly registered. But city officials say illegal bookings on other platforms remain common.

L.A.’s rules went into effect in late 2019. They require hosts to register with the city, display their registration number in listings, and only rent out their primary residence — in other words, the home where they actually live. Hosts seeking to book guests for more than 120 nights per year need to get a special extended home-sharing permit.

However, with permitting and citation responsibilities scattered among multiple city departments, enforcement has been spotty.

A 2022 McGill University study estimated that widespread illegal activity on short-term rental platforms had removed about 2,500 homes from L.A.’s long-term rental market, worsening the region’s housing shortage and increasing rents by about $800 per year for the city’s tenants.

Big tourist draws coming to LA

Noah Suarez-Sikes is an organizer with Better Neighbors L.A., a group advocating for stronger limits on vacation rentals. He said without better enforcement, more housing could be lost as L.A. prepares to host major events like the World Cup in 2026 and the Olympics in 2028.

“People are going to be displaced in favor of tourist accommodations,” Suarez-Sikes said. “And after the Olympics, those aren't going to go back to being long-term rentals.”

The City Attorney’s Office says it has found examples of vacation rentals illegally operating out of rent-controlled apartments. The city filed an ongoing lawsuit earlier this year against a self-described “Airbnb business coach” who detailed his strategy on social media.

Hosts say LA makes compliance too difficult

While city officials debate how to crackdown on operators flouting the law, many smaller hosts say they believe the city’s rules have been impossible to navigate.

Operators who gave public comment during Wednesday's committee meeting said they rely on vacation rental income to fund their retirement, to help them cover the cost of caring for sick family members, or to weather prolonged downturns in the city’s film and TV industry.

Frank Krentzman said he rents out a single-family home he owns in Venice while living in a smaller unit on the same property. He said the permit that allowed the property to be rented throughout the year was in his deceased husband’s name, and he’s been struggling to get the city to issue an extended home-sharing permit in his own name.

“They make the rules impossible to follow,” Krentzman said, adding that it’s been impossible to reach people in the city’s Planning Department by phone or in person to figure out paperwork issues. “I comply. The city treats me like I'm a criminal at every turn.”

Would a ‘bounty system’ deter scofflaws?

Councilmember Bob Blumenfield expressed reservations about hiring new staff to enforce the rules at a time when the city’s budget is strained.

“I’m not confident we are going to have the resources to properly enforce this,” Blumenfield said. “It’s too big. There are too many moving parts.”

Instead, he pushed for setting up a “bounty system” that would allow members of the public to sue illegal vacation rental operators and collect penalties through a private right of action.

“We would empower the public to go after illegal rentals,” Blumenfield said. “That would save us a lot of resources, too.”

Should L.A. copy New York?

Other council members leaned toward pursuing enforcement strategies already in place in New York City. There, platforms like Airbnb and VRBO are required to check city data to verify that hosts are in compliance with local laws before a booking can go through.

L.A. Councilmember Monica Rodriguez said that approach would avoid saddling overburdened city departments with even more work.

“We have technical solutions that we can deploy,” she said. “We just need to invest in it.”

What happens next?

No firm decisions were made in Wednesday’s meeting. Moving forward, city staff will report back to the council about various proposals for changing the Home Sharing Ordinance, such as increasing fines and requiring property inspections before permits are issued.

One contentious proposal would involve eliminating the city’s extended home sharing permits, limiting hosts to no more than 120 booked nights per year. Planning officials say about 40% of the city’s approximately 4,000 registered hosts have extended home-sharing permits.

Business advocates have urged city leaders to oppose further limits on vacation rental platforms. The Central City Association and the Valley Industry and Commerce Association sent council members a letter this week saying vacation rentals generate billions of dollars in local economic activity.

“The short-term rental industry alone contributes millions in Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) to the city’s budget each year — funds that are vital for supporting public services and community investments,” the letter states. “Restricting home-sharing would have a dramatic negative impact on this revenue stream, creating a budget shortfall at a time when our city can least afford it.”

How platforms are responding

Airbnb officials told LAist the company has already entered into a platform agreement with the city to support enforcement.

“We continue to work closely with city staff to support their compliance efforts and support efforts to encourage more platforms to adopt similar tools that promote short-term rental compliance in Los Angeles,” Justin Wesson, Airbnb public policy senior manager, said in an emailed statement.

VRBO did not respond to LAist’s request for comment.