Click here to read the California Senate Bill 593 Update  

Senate Bill 593, introduced in the last California State Senate session, is again being considered. 

We applaud the leadership of California State Senator, Mike McGuire, a Democrat from the Sonoma County city of Healdsburg, in crafting legislation which allows municipalities to protect housing and neighborhood quality of life. 

SB 593 promises to give California’s cities and counties the uniform regulatory framework essential for holding hosting platforms, such as AirBnb, Flipkey, Vacation Rental by Owner (VRBP) accountable and would make it easier for cities to collect taxes and enforce regulations. 

Municipalities across the state are crafting policies which would allow them to regulate the short-term rental industry. These cities have been frustrated in their efforts to understand and regulate the short term rental industry because many of the largest companies in the industry have failed to disclose basic information about their operations. SB 593 provides for that disclosure, which is the same type of information required of any business, while preserving the right of municipalities to implement appropriate regulatory measures. 

We believe 2016 will be the year that Los Angeles adopts new policies regulating short-term rentals, per the proposed Los Angeles City Council Motions: Short-Term Rentals/Preparation of Ordinance (Council File: 14-1635S2).

In 2015 we were successful in bringing people from all over Los Angeles concerned about the impact of short-term rentals together as one voice.  

We have shed light on the impact of short-term rentals and really become the voice of residents on this issue.

We are hopeful that the final regulations will include protections for our communities and preservation of long-term housing at all levels, including the most vulnerable rent stabilized and affordable housing. 

Virtually every other jurisdiction that has enacted STR regulations is finding them almost impossible to enforce. We are hopeful that Los Angeles will learn from these errors and omissions and adopt an enforceable ordinance that can be a model for other cities.

To: Rick Cole, Los Angeles Deputy Mayor for Budget and Innovation

Dear Mr. Cole,

At a recent American Planning Association conference, you voiced your views on regulating the sharing economy in Los Angeles. We would appreciate clarification of your position on this important issue.

When asked how Los Angeles should regulate the sharing economy, you suggested that the City "experiment on some pieces of Los Angeles." You went on to explain that the city should "find the places for deregulation to take place, let it happen, and then when people call and complain just...let the phone ring."

To which "pieces of Los Angeles" do you refer? Does this philosophy represent your action plan vis a vis the proliferation of illegal and commercialized short-term rentals in Los Angeles?

For example, do you plan to let commercial users of online rental platforms operate multiple year-round short-term rentals and de facto hotels out of rent controlled residential dwellings, despite the subsequent loss of affordable housing? Is your goal to allow them to become so entrenched that regulation will become difficult, if not impossible?

Do you believe that the New York Attorney General is mistaken in pursuing litigation based on the findings of this recent report on Airbnb's impact on the affordable housing stock? 

Do you intend to foster such illegal and commercial short-term rental ventures in Los Angeles through benign neglect? If so, how do you plan to shape the dynamics of this tech economy phenomenon, given the blinding speed at which it develops?

We appreciate your time, and look forward to understanding your perspective on these issues.

Sincerely,

The Keep Neighborhoods First Team