The LA County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday in favor of an ordinance that would regulate short-term rentals like Airbnbs in unincorporated parts of the county.
The proposed ordinance, if passed when it comes up for a final vote on March 19, will put limits and new fees on property owners looking to rent out their homes.
The vote was unanimous, but it’s not without controversy and confusion about how the proposal will work.
Why are the county supervisors doing this?
The short answer is: The supes are trying to bring the county in line with the City of LA, Santa Monica, and other local cities that already have limits on rentals.
The board is hoping the proposed ordinance will help check the ongoing housing crisis in LA County.
“This is the supervisors’ opportunity to protect housing, to protect our neighborhoods from the face of an industry that is having a real impact on our housing crisis. And we need those protections,” says Nancy Hanna, a lawyer representing a group called Better Neighbors LA, which showed up in force at Tuesday’s board meeting.
Many who turned out were East LA residents who came bearing horror stories of party houses, traffic, noise, trash, and backyard nudity.
The focus is on operators who buy up multiple homes that are exclusively used as rentals. These party houses reduce housing stock, negatively influence quality of life, and increase risks in fire-prone areas like Topanga, the group argued.
How many rentals are we talking about here?
According to Granicus, a software company that contracts with government organizations to keep track of rentals (among other things), there are 2,841 short-term rental units and 353 long-term rental units in unincorporated LA County.
What are the proposed changes?
There are a few. Highlights include:
- Anyone who wants to rent out a house has to own that house and live in it as a full-time residence. You can rent out a room, but you can’t buy up a property just to use it as a short-term rental.
- There’s an annual $914 fee — though supervisors say they’ll discuss amending that for low-income renters.
- You can’t rent out guest houses or accessory dwelling units (ADUs). The logic here is that the state has incentivized homeowners to build ADUs as homes or long-term rentals (though there’s still a lot of confusion about how any of this will work). LA County supes’ reasoning is that turning ADUs into short-term rentals defeats the purpose.
- A maximum stay of 30 consecutive days for a renter.
Did anyone show up at the meeting to argue against regulation?
None of the party-house-owning corporate entities showed up, but some retiree homeowners came with stories about how renting out rooms or ADUs supplements their income. Some argued it’s the only way they can afford to keep living in their neighborhood.
Ellen Snortland has a trailer and studio space on her property in Altadena that she started renting out around 2009, after she took out a disastrous loan against her property.
“We tanked and our house went into foreclosure,” she explains. “So we started to brainstorm. … What can we do that's not selling our souls, and that is dignified, and yet will yield enough revenue for us to stay in our house, literally?”
Snortland says she strongly opposes the proposed ordinance, and is going to continue renting, ordinance or no.
“Well, there's my rebel part, which is: Come after me,” she says. “While I am a bleeding-heart liberal in many ways, and completely see how people who can't sleep at night because their next-door neighbors have [a party house rental], I would be out there with pitchforks and torches, too. But that ain't us.”
Are there any obvious bones of contention?
It’ll be interesting to pay attention to the ADU issue. Board Chair Sup. Lindsey Horvath proposed an amendment that would allow homeowners to move into their ADU and rent out their main house as a workaround. That’s a way of protecting the “sanctity” of the ADU initiative, but it’s also somewhat puzzling. At the end of the day, what’s the difference between living in the primary residence and renting the ADU, and living in the ADU and renting out the primary residence? Why force homeowners to move into a smaller space?
Expect this to be hashed out as the ordinance comes together.
How will the county enforce the ordinance if it passes?
Through the awesome power of a hotline. Drunk tourists trying to slip n’ slide in your neighborhood? Call the number and report it. An investigation will, presumably, ensue.
It’s worth pointing out that, per a McGill University study of short-term rentals in the City of LA, nearly half of the rentals are considered illegal, and enforcement is lacking.
The Board of Supervisors ended the discussion before voting with an acknowledgement that a one-size-fits-all ordinance isn’t ideal — that the communities of the Santa Monica Mountains aren’t the same as the communities of East LA. But, they said, it’s a start.
“I know that doesn’t make everyone who has spoken with us today happy, but I do appreciate everyone who has come out to share their perspectives,” said Horvath.
