As Fall approaches and the weather begins to cool, we are writing with several urgent updates regarding implementation and enforcement of our City’s Home Sharing Ordinance (HSO), and with an update on Appendix A.

SAVE THE DATE for the next Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) committee hearing to consider and vote on Appendix A (the platform agreement for sharing data with the City), on October 22^nd. This would finalize the guidelines for implementation of the HSO. You can play an important role in influencing the members of PLUM by writing letters of support asking PLUM to pass Appendix A to [email protected].  There will be time for public testimony - if you can, please attend the hearing to show your support for Appendix A.

AIRBNB DELAYS: After being given a generous 11-month grace period for enforcement, Airbnb is now, at the last-minute, attempting to manipulate the City into allowing yet another delay. Airbnb has asked the City to yet again delay implementation and enforcement of the HSO by claiming they need more time to develop their online enforcement system. We know

this claim is false, and we believe it is a thinly veiled attempt to undo all of the progress we have made.  Unfortunately, we should not be surprised as they’ve utilized this delay tactic in other cities, including New York, Miami and Boston.

City Officials must not fall for their delay tactic!

We are in the middle of a housing and homelessness crisis in Los Angeles.  In fact, the City Council just introduced a motion to consider the City in a State of Emergency! The City must follow through on enforcing the HSO as this helps return desperately needed affordable housing to the long-term rental market.

As you remember, the Home Sharing ordinance passed the Council in December of 2018. Hosts are aware that they need to register with the City, so Airbnb should be prepared to share that and other legally mandated data with the City.  Airbnb is a sophisticated technology company that regularly shares its data, so any counter-narrative is just a lie to mislead the City Council and the public. A recent Los Angeles Times article broke the story about Airbnb lobbying for L.A. to delay enforcing the new restrictions.

The residents of L.A. are sick and tired of illegal hotels driving them out of their homes!  Please reach out to the Mayor, City Council and Planning Department and tell them not to fall for Airbnb’s delay tactics. Click here to open & send email.

REMINDER: The City Council and Planning told the public that the Home-Sharing Ordinance will be enforced on November 1, 2019.  This must happen regardless of Airbnb’s scare tactics or whether Appendix A is passed at the October 22 hearing.  As a reminder, registration is done entirely online. For additional information, contact [email protected]. You can find the home-sharing registration portal here, along with a video tutorial on how to register and general home-sharing facts.

NOTEWORTHY ARTICLES

A recent Los Angeles Times article broke the story about Airbnb lobbying for L.A. to delay enforcing the new restrictions.

Airbnb’s Public Policy Manager, John Choi, is arguing that the company needs more time to build a computerized system to share their rental info with the City. Airbnb is trying to delay the enforcement as much as possible, so they can continue to make a profit at the expense of L.A. residents. Airbnb even threatened to let a tax deal they made with the City lapse, leaving the tech platform with no responsibility to provide L.A. with host’s collected taxes.

The City’s planning department responded to Airbnb, noting that there are many ways to comply with the new law – such as sharing a spreadsheet with the relevant information. Hopefully, Airbnb will obey the law and work with the City.

A recent Bloomberg article revealed that Airbnb plans to go public through a direct listing rather than an IPO. A traditional IPO would force Airbnb to show investors their books – which includes their illegal backdoor tax deals with cities across America. This could hurt their overall goal of going public.

Thank you for staying the course, and we hope you will take action on the information we’ve provided – send a letter, attend a hearing or email us back with your stories of short-term rental malpractice.