Airbnbs and other short-term rentals in unincorporated areas will be restricted to hosts who rent out their primary residence, under a proposal that won preliminary approval from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
Officials say rentals have proliferated in unincorporated areas of the county, sometimes leaving a trail of raucous parties and trash-strewn streets.
The proposal ordinance, Five years in the making, it would prohibit hosts from listing second homes, rooming houses, accessory dwelling units or investment properties in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County.
Supervisors, who approved the ordinance unanimously Tuesday, must vote on it one more time, likely early next month, before it becomes law.
Under the proposed ordinance, hosts in unincorporated areas, where about 1 million residents live, would have to register with the county and pay an annual fee of $914. A property cannot be rented for more than 30 consecutive days at a time. And so-called “corporate hosts,” who rent multiple properties, would have to pull their ads.
“It takes them right out of the game,” said Randy Renick, head of Best Neighbors Los Angeles, that pushes for short-term rental regulation.
Better Neighbors LA says the ordinance would put desperately needed housing back on the market. The group has estimated that there are more than 2,600 homes available for short-term rentals in unincorporated areas of the county.
The ordinance was supported by several tenant advocacy groups and public officials, who argued that short-term rentals were displacing long-term residents and replacing them with unruly tourists. Some residents have told the media that their street has become a “de facto hotel.”
“Across the county, residents are suddenly having to deal with commercial businesses in the middle of their neighborhoods, resulting in loud parties, parking difficulties, large volumes of trash, loud noise, and guests who have no interest in safeguarding the community.” said one coalition. of city officials wrote in a joint letter.
Some hosts, as well as the rental platforms they use, have opposed the proposed ordinance, arguing that it is an “attack” on mom-and-pop landlords, discourages tourists from visiting and cuts off a much-needed revenue stream.
At a county board meeting last month, Airbnb host Ellen Snortland said she felt like she was being unfairly lumped in with corporate landlords. She said she is 70 years old and uses Airbnb to avoid foreclosure.
“Do you think people like us Airbnb hosts do it to get rich?” she said. “We do it to survive.”
Vrbo, an online platform for vacation rentals, said it believes the county regulations would hurt both tourists and the families who want to host them.
The proposal “severely limits the options available to families traveling to and visiting the area and the economic opportunities for the residents who own, manage and service these accommodations,” a spokesperson for Expedia Group, which oversees Vrbo, wrote in a statement.
The county's crackdown comes more than five years after the city of Los Angeles passed its own short-term rental restrictions, which prohibited Angelenos from renting second homes on platforms like Airbnb. The county's version would roughly align the unincorporated areas with the city.
María Patiño Gutiérrez, policy director for the tenant rights group Strategic Actions for a Fair Economy, said residents sometimes report illegal vacation rentals in their neighborhoods, only to discover that the homes are actually in an unincorporated area of the Los Angeles County and are therefore completely legal.
“The housing crisis is all over Los Angeles County,” he said.
Some supporters of the ordinance hope there will be one significant difference from the city of Los Angeles: its forceful enforcement.
Investigators have found that hosts in Los Angeles regularly break the city's rules, with few consequences. A study from 2022 found that nearly half of the short-term rentals in the city were illegal.
Renick, of Better Neighbors LA, said he believes the county will do a better job enforcing the law, though he said details on how it will be done are “few.”
“We are confident that, given what we have been told by the various supervisors, the county will take enforcement of the law seriously,” he said.
Nichole Alcaraz, The county treasurer and tax collector's chief operating officer, who spearheaded the ordinance, said they are still negotiating penalties for hosts who don't comply. He said there will be more details next month.
“We know there will be an enforcement arm. “We have some general ideas about how it’s going to work,” he said. “But the amount [of the penalty] it could change.”
The ordinance would take effect six months after the final vote and would include all property owners in unincorporated Los Angeles County, except those Along the coast. Residents of unincorporated coastal areas, including Marina del Rey, Catalina Island and the Santa Monica Mountains, will have to wait for the California Coastal Commission to consider the ordinance.
