LA's City Council To Vote On Airbnb Regulations

LOS ANGELES, CA — Although one Los Angeles City Council committee spent more than two years to draft regulations for Airbnb and other short-term rentals, another council committee quickly moved the proposed ordinance forward Wednesday and it is now expected to go before the full City Council for a vote.

The Planning and Land Use Management Committee worked since 2016 to craft a policy establishing laws for short-term rentals in the city and unanimously passed a set of guidelines earlier this month that would limit the number of rental days per host to 120 a year but also create a discretionary process that would allow hosts to appeal for additional days that could allow them to rent for the entire year.

Such exemptions could be granted if hosts meet certain criteria, including that the property has not been the subject of any recent nuisance violations.

The Housing Committee with little discussion approved the potential set of rules that took years for the Planning and Land Use Management Committee to iron out as it attempted to craft a policy that pleases both short-term rental hosts who say their livelihood depends on the practice and critics who say it is contributing to the city's housing shortage and adversely affecting the quality of life in some neighborhoods.

The proposed ordinance requires the home to serve as the host's primary residence, but the Housing Committee also voted to have a report on a potential new ordinance drafted that would regulate vacation rentals, although the committee did not give any guidance as to what it wanted the second ordinance to include.

Councilman Jose Huizar, who chairs the Planning and Land Use Management committee, said he believed a proper balance was found in the regulations his committee passed.

"I think we've been able to provide a framework that will allow us to get the bad operators out," Huizar told City News Service after the vote. "I think we've come very close to allowing people who want to continue short- term rentals in that industry, opening up more housing for local residents and getting bad operators out that are disrupting their communities."

The city does not have an ordinance regulating Airbnb, which connects travelers with hosts looking to rent out their home or a bedroom in their home, but struck a deal with the company in 2016 for it to pay hotel taxes on behalf of its hosts under a three-year agreement.

City News Service; Image by: Daniel Krason/Shutterstock