Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
LA Sues Hosting Platform Vrbo Over Failure To Enforce Short-Term Rental Rules
A screenshot of Vrbo search options for Los Angeles. The L.A. city attorney is suing the vacation rental platform for processing bookings for hosts who haven't registered under the city's short-term rental ordinance.
(
Screenshot
/
LAist.com
)
The city of Los Angeles is suing the popular vacation rental platform HomeAway.com, now branded as Vrbo, for allowing hosts to book guests without registering under the city's short-term rental ordinance.
The ordinance was passed in December 2018 in an effort to reign in the explosion of vacation rentals made popular with online home-sharing sites like Airbnb.
"It's motivated by the fact that we're in a housing crisis," City Attorney Mike Feuer said of the lawsuit, which was announced Monday. Feuer noted that decreasing housing supply and rising rents largely propelled the ordinance.
"[The home-sharing ordinance] was designed to strike some balance," Feuer said. "And if people are violating it, they're violating that balance, and they're unfairly taking advantage of those who are abiding by the rules."
Support for LAist comes from
L.A. requires property owners to register with the city if they want to rent out their homes for stints of 30 days or less. They must also pay a nightly rental fee to the city and collect transient occupancy taxes from guests. The rules also prohibit owners from renting their homes out for more than 120 days per year.
Booking platforms like Vrbo are required to ensure that hosts are registered with the city and that they don't go over their annual allotment of rental days. Feuer, who's also running for mayor, said the city's planning department gives vacation rental platforms lists of people authorized to rent their homes on a daily basis.
He said Vrbo, unlike some other popular platforms, didn't seem to require hosts to show they've registered with the city before processing a booking. He said around 29% of bookings made in a recent 30-day period appeared to violate the city's rules.
"That suggests that there may be thousands of prohibited transactions that HomeAway has processed since the ordinance took effect," Feuer said.
Rental Transgressions
The lawsuit is the city's first against a rental booking platform since it passed its short-term rental ordinance in December 2018. But hosting platforms have been the subject of legal challenges and ordinances in municipalities throughout the county, in a bid to prevent further problems for the housing market.
Support for LAist comes from
About 22% of short-term rental bookings in L.A. are made through Vrbo, according to Feuer.
The city is seeking an injunction that would prohibit HomeAway from processing any further bookings that violate the short-term rental ordinance. It's also seeking fines of up to $2,500 per violation.
Note: LAist reached out to HomeAway's parent company, Expedia Group, but has not received a reply. We will update this post if and when we hear back.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
Isolated showers can still hit the L.A. area until Friday as remnants from the tropical storm move out. -
First aspiring spectators must register online, then later in 2026 there will be a series of drawings. -
It's thanks to Tropical Storm Mario, so also be ready for heat and humidity, and possibly thunder and lightning. -
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass suspended a state law allowing duplexes, calling more housing unsafe. But in Altadena, L.A. County leaders say these projects could be key for rebuilding. -
![A Black woman sits at a dais with a flag in the background. A name placard in front of her reads: Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kell[um].](https://scpr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5425437/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6298x3897+0+0/resize/640x396!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fscpr-brightspot.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2F76%2F00%2Febed9a7a4fbd9e5ba12997e51d59%2Fgettyimages-1258669633.jpg)
L.A. County investigators have launched a probe into allegations about Va Lecia Adams Kellum and people she hired at the L.A. Homeless Services Authority. -
This measure on the Nov. 4, 2025, California ballot is part of a larger battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives next year.
![A Black woman sits at a dais with a flag in the background. A name placard in front of her reads: Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kell[um].](https://scpr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/45c201e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6298x3894+0+0/resize/786x486!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fscpr-brightspot.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2F76%2F00%2Febed9a7a4fbd9e5ba12997e51d59%2Fgettyimages-1258669633.jpg)
Best of LAist