We are writing to report that the Home-Sharing Ordinance (HSO) is in now in full effect, to update you on two recently proposed City Council Planning and Land Use Committee (PLUM) motions that could impact the HSO enforcement and rent-stabilized housing and to provide the latest information about enforcement of HSO in the Coastal zone.

As of July 1^st, the City’s new Home-Sharing Ordinance (HSO) went into effect, and the registration portal is fully operational! Sign up if you plan to engage in home sharing - and also encourage your neighbors to sign up. You can visit the Planning Department website here to register.

As the HSO goes into full effect, we want to support the City in their enforcement  efforts and to close any potential loopholes. With your help, we can ensure that L.A. remains a city where residents can live without problems in rent-stabilized housing. To voice your concerns, please email [email protected] and ask them to enforce the ordinance throughout the city.

PLUM MOTIONS

Recently, Councilmember O’Farrell proposed a motion requesting that the Planning Department develop recommendations for a pilot program in Council District 13 which would remove the Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) prohibition for resident property owners to operate short-term rentals.

If implemented, the proposed ‘pilot program’ would effectively create a major loophole to circumvent the newly passed ordinance by allowing owner-occupied rent-stabilized units to be used for short-term rentals. Landlords would get a free pass while RSO tenants would not! The City would selectively enforce the RSO prohibition in one district and not all the others. This could lead to a great expansion of short-term rental units in other parts of the city. The bottom line is that we must encourage the City to enforce the ordinance even-handedly and fairly throughout Los Angeles. 

We must continue to advocate for proper enforcement, or the hard work we have devoted to preserving rent-stabilized housing would go to waste. Join Keep Neighborhoods First as we advocate for our communities!

To voice your concerns, please email [email protected] and ask them to enforce the ordinance in all rent-stabilized unites throughout the City.

NEXT STEPS FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF PLATFORM AGREEMENTS

Many of you have been asking us about the next step for implementation of the Home Sharing Platform Agreements. The next step is to finalize the platform data sharing piece. The PLUM Committee/City Council must approve “Appendix A” of the HSO. In summary, two methods are provided for in Appendix A – a manual spreadsheet method and an Application Programming Interface (API) Method. A third method of platform compliance is for a platform and the City to enter into a Platform Agreement in which both sides agree upon a method of providing the required data to the City.

The committee requested that this come back to PLUM in mid-August, so we will delve deeper into this issue in our August newsletter as the PLUM Committee returns from their recess.

Enforcement of Coastal Zone HSO Update

There have been some questions about whether the new HSO will be enforced in the Los Angeles Coastal Zone. The California Coastal Commission (CCC) says Venice and other coastal communities in Los Angeles need a Coastal Development Permit (CDP) to legally implement the Home Sharing Ordinance (HSO) that went into effect on July 1^st.

However, Taylor Bazley, former Venice deputy for Council District 11 (Councilmember Bonin), stated the following in a recent email: "We are implementing the home sharing ordinance everywhere in the City including the Coastal Zone. It is our attorney's opinion that we are well within our legal grounds to do so without an amendment to our land use plan or file with the Coastal Commission."

Right now, this is good news for enforcement of the ordinance. However, we must be diligent in ensuring that the City follows through on their assurance of enforcement. We will update you as we continue to follow-up with City officials about the Coastal Zone.

In The News: Airbnb’s Wake Of Destruction

The Los Angeles Times recently reported on the new homesharing ordinance that took effect on July 1^st. However, they left out a crucial detail. They failed to mention that many of the “6,000 to 10,000 units that otherwise probably would have been rented to long-term tenants” are rent-stabilized and that the ordinance prohibits short-term/home-sharing rentals in RSO units.

The ‘Airbnb problem’ is not just one that L.A. faces. This is a global problem. It’s been reported that city centers in major cities around Europe are being vacated due to Airbnb. In Paris, families are fleeing the city as their former residential neighborhoods are being decimated by short-term rental take-over. High concentrations of Airbnb and short-term rentals are slowly destroying the cities we know and love.

Recently, a highly-illegal $5 million Airbnb empire was discovered in New York City. Commercial operators have become the primary source of revenue for Airbnb, which is the reason Airbnb allows them to continue stealing homes from long-term residents - and destroying neighborhoods and community cohesion.

Lastly, ten cities in Europe ask the European Union to do more to help regulate the short-term rental industry and stop the "touristification" of neighborhoods. Los Angeles must do the same! Airbnb is leaving a wake of destruction in Europe and it won’t be long before it occurs in the U.S.

Watch for updates with ways you can stay involved in our fight to protect neighborhoods and affordable housing.

Thank you again for your continued support – please stay and touch and let us know if you have questions.