One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.
Los Angeles plans crackdown on Airbnb — and its hosts
The city of L.A. wants to fine Airbnb and property owners who violate new proposed rules.
(
Chris Weeks/Getty Images
)
Listen
0:45
Los Angeles plans crackdown on Airbnb — and its hosts
The city of Los Angeles plans to hit Airbnb and its hosts with hefty fines if they fail to follow proposed new rules on short-term rentals.
Under a city plan revealed Friday, hosts who use Airbnb and other vacation-rental sites could only rent out their primary residence and for no more than 90 days a year. The property cannot be under rent control. Also, hosts would be legally responsible for nuisance violations by guests and would have to register with the city and pay the same kind of lodging tax that hotels do. Breaking any of these rules could result in fines ranging from $200/a day to $2,000/a day.
Meanwhile, hosting platforms like Airbnb could be fined between $500 to $1,000 a day for offenses like advertising a listing that violates city rules or for refusing to hand over the addresses of unregistered short-term rentals to the city.
City officials are proposing new rules as they contend with a housing shortage that activists blame partly on businesses that convert large swaths of apartments into short-term rentals, which can net more money per night.
The plan "proposes an enforceable system to protect affordable housing and our neighborhoods from rogue hotel operators," said Councilmember Mike Bonin, one of the officials who proposed the regulations, in a statement.
But Airbnb said in a statement that proposed fines will hurt the middle-class hosts who depend on the income that comes from sharing their homes.
"The proposal takes a step backward putting consumer privacy at great risk by requiring online platforms to give the government unfettered access to confidential user data without any idea of how the information would be used," Airbnb said.
Sponsored message
The L.A. Short-Term Rental Alliance, which represents hosts, predicted that privacy issues could lead to legal challenges from the likes of the American Civil Liberties Union. The group’s director of operations Robert St. Genis said that the city’s plan contains “fatal flaws.”
“This is a job killer, brings economic hardship to many and deters tourism, convention business and production in Los Angeles,” St. Genis said.
The first public hearing on the new rules will take place May 21 at 10 a.m. at the Deaton Auditorium in downtown L.A.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
