This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.
Kristen Lepore
Published May 18, 2015 5:00 AM
The Airbnb website is displayed on a laptop on April 21, 2014 in San Anselmo, California.
(
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
)
How Santa Monica will enforce its Airbnb ban
Santa Monica city officials will spend $410,000 in year one to create an enforcement department that will patrol short-term rentals in the city.
The council passed tough regulations on short-term rentals last week. The approved ordinance, which goes into effect in mid-June, prohibits property owners and residents from renting their places unless they stay in the unit with their guests. The city estimates this will ban about 1,400 — or 80 percent — of the listings on home-sharing on sites like Airbnb.
Assistant planning director Salvador Valles said the city will hire three full-time staffers to review the online sites; to look at photos; and to identify unlawful rentals.
He says when it comes to enforcing rules around short-term rentals, these changes move the city toward a proactive approach rather remaining complaint-based.
Keep up with LAist.
If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.
"We can issue citations just based on the advertisement alone when we're using our business regulations," he said.
Violators could be fined up to $500. It won’t be easy to identify unlawful rentals though. Websites such as Airbnb don’t list addresses. So staff will look at photos and drive the city's streets trying to identify people who are breaking the law.
Valles says the new department won’t be in full-on enforcement mode during the first few months. They expect that many people have already booked vacation rentals in Santa Monica, and they don’t want tourists to be forced to cancel last-minute.
Throughout the summer, Valles said, the new employees will educate those who aren’t in compliance.
"We will be looking to reach out to the community, reach out to those individuals who are currently listing to try and educate them about the law and try to work with them to get self-complaint," he said.
Santa Monica's new ordinance states that home-sharing platforms like Airbnb and VRBO will be responsible for disclosing the names, addresses, length of stay and price for each listing in the city. But Valles said he anticipates some push-back from the sites since other cities have been forced to subpoena Airbnb for the information.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.