More than 20,000 rent-controlled units have left the market in Los Angeles since 2001—a problem exacerbated by options for short-term rentals. Now the City Attorney's Office is fighting back.
"For the first time, the city attorney’s office has filed criminal charges alleging that a building’s owners offered units for rent on Airbnb after booting out tenants," reports Ben Poston.
City Attorney Mike Feuer announced the misdemeanor charges earlier this week, sending a warning that his office "is going to intervene to preserve rent-stabilized units and restore those units when we allege they’ve been unlawfully taken off the market."
The charges announced this week hinge on the hot-button law known as the Ellis Act, which Poston describes as "a state law that allows landlords to get out of the rental business. The law requires landlords to pay for relocation fees and notify tenants if they intend to re-rent the units within five years." The landlords in question failed to meet those requirements, renting their units for more than $550 a night.
Feuer has also promised that his office will prioritize investigations into illegal short-term rentals, and notify Airbnb of Ellis Act properties.
FULL STORY: L.A. apartment owners charged with allegedly evicting tenants, then renting their units via Airbnb
LA Officials Struggle to Enforce Short-Term Rental Rules
Hundreds of rent-controlled units are being illegally rented out as short-term rentals, pushing out long-term renters and exacerbating the city’s housing crisis.
L.A. Adopts Strict Short-Term Rental Regulations
The Los Angeles City Council approved significant new regulation of short-term rentals, available on platforms like Airbnb, earlier this week.
Can Los Angeles Regulate Airbnb?
Several Los Angeles neighborhoods, Venice in particular, have become hotbeds of short-term rental activity. Upset by a stream of raucous visitors, residents wonder whether the city can—or will—enforce regulations on platforms like Airbnb.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
Opinion: California’s SB 79 Would Improve Housing Affordability and Transit Access
A proposed bill would legalize transit-oriented development statewide.
Record Temperatures Prompt Push for Environmental Justice Bills
Nevada legislators are proposing laws that would mandate heat mitigation measures to protect residents from the impacts of extreme heat.
Downtown Pittsburgh Set to Gain 1,300 New Housing Units
Pittsburgh’s office buildings, many of which date back to the early 20th century, are prime candidates for conversion to housing.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service