COUNCIL ADOPTS RECOMMENDATIONS TO STRENGTHEN HOMESHARING ORDINANCE

For Immediate Release: March 18, 2025

Los Angeles, CA – Today, the Los Angeles City Council moved to strengthen the City’s Homesharing Ordinance. The Homesharing Ordinance was first passed in 2018 to help regulate short-term rentals in the City of Los Angeles. However, the City has struggled to enforce the Ordinance, taking years to issue fines and citations, resulting in significant quality of life issues for neighboring residents as well as the loss of critical housing stock. 

The recommendations stem from a motion first introduced by Councilmember Nithya Raman in 2021 to determine mechanisms and models the City should implement for more effective enforcement of unpermitted and non-compliant homesharing operations. 

“We learned through this process just how broken homesharing enforcement is: it takes up to three years to issue a fine against a single bad actor!” said Councilmember Raman. “Failing to fully and adequately enforce the Homesharing Ordinance means we are not only inviting major nuisance and safety issues into our communities, but we are risking losing valuable housing stock for those who need it most. My office has been laser-focused on bolstering enforcement, and today’s vote is an essential step in our ongoing efforts to stabilize and protect our neighborhoods.” 

The newly adopted recommendations include:

• Creating a public portal with permit and citation information;
• Creating a single dedicated unit or division to issue permits and oversee enforcement;
• Making it easier to file complaints and submit evidence through the myLA311 website and web app;
• Hiring more Hearing Officers within the City Attorney’s Office to investigate cases;
• Requiring City departments to conduct property inspections prior to permit issuance and as necessary if a property is reported a nuisance;
• Requiring that platforms conduct an electronic verification of listings prior to booking transactions;
• Strengthening requirements for providing proof-of-primary-residence;
• Adjusting the City’s fees and fines structure to incentivize compliance; 
• Ceasing practice of sending written Notices of Code Violation to owners of illegal listings prior to referring the property for citation;
• Adding a Private Right of Action clause to the Ordinance, allowing any interested party to pursue Private Right of Action to enforce the law when unlawful activities occur.

City Departments have already begun to implement several of the adopted recommendations, including the creation of a public portal to show permitted listings and no longer sending warning letters prior to issuing a citation. Implementation of the full list of recommendations will be monitored in the Housing and Homelessness Committee on an ongoing basis.  

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