Tighter Restrictions Coming For Airbnb, Vrbo, Other Short-Term Rentals in LA County

Airbnb, Vrbo, and other short-term rental hosts will need to follow new regulations by this fall for properties in the unincorporated areas of the county, which spans more than 2,650 square miles and is home to about a million people.

The L.A. County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the set of rules Tuesday, and they’ll go into effect 180 days from now, in mid-September.

The regulations aim to strike a balance between the amount of long-term housing and the quality of life in those neighborhoods, with the financial benefits to short-term rental hosts, according to a treasurer and tax collector letter to the board.

What hosts need to know

Hosts will be required to register with the county and pay an annual fee of $914.

A subsidy may be available during the first year for lower income homeowners looking to earn extra income with rentals. County officials said they planned to further discuss options for those homeowners.

Other rules include:

• ADUs, guesthouses, vacation homes, recreation rooms, or boats cannot be listed as short-term rentals. Hosts will be limited to renting out their primary residence only.
• Hosts cannot run more than one short-term rental in these areas at a time, and they cannot accept more than one booking per night. 
• All short-term rentals must be 30 consecutive days or less, with minimum booking requirements depending on if the host is staying on the property while guests are there.
• A maximum of 12 people are allowed per reservation, and the rentals cannot be used to host parties, commercial events, corporate banquets, or anything with an admission fee.

How will it be enforced?

If a short-term rental property is out of compliance, the host could get their registration revoked by the county, and they’d be required to cancel any future bookings and take down their listings.

For each violation, hosts may also face a $2,000 fine per day, or two times the average nightly rate charged, whichever is higher.

They can also file an appeal for fines, fees, or a notice of noncompliance with the county.

If Airbnb, Vrbo, or other hosting platforms don’t verify the short-term rental registration number issued by the county for each property, or if they don’t have it listed on all of those advertisements, the companies could be fined $1,000 per day, per violation.

What opponents say

Opponents argue the regulations are unnecessary and are unfair to hosts and landlords.

Michele Zack, who identified herself as a 10-year Airbnb host in Altadena, said during public comment that hosting provides income for her and her husband, who are both retired.

“We provide an important service to Altadena, which doesn’t have a single hotel room,” she said. “We are not converting apartment buildings to Airbnbs. We are not absentee landlords for party houses.”

Jeremiah Small called the rules a de facto ban on short-term rentals in a written public comment.

“This ordinance is a draconian restriction on small businesses in unincorporated L.A. County,” Small wrote in a public comment. “It is bad for residents and bad for local businesses.”

What supporters say

Proponents say the county needs to do all it can to protect long-term housing for residents, and short-term rentals make neighborhoods less affordable for everyone.

Andrew Davidov, who lives in District 1, said in a written public comment that un-hosted short-term rentals, which is when a host is not staying at the property with guests, takes up valuable housing that would otherwise be available to people looking to live in the area.

“The [regulations] will help safeguard housing for our families and friends who want to remain in the L.A. communities they love,” Davidov wrote in a public comment.