ACTION Apartment Association

Cracking Down on Home Sharing ‘Hostels’

09/06/2019 12:30 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

City Council to explore limiting numbers of guests in vacation rentals

In 2015, the City of Santa Monica adopted a home-sharing ordinance that aimed to clarify and impose regulations on home-sharing and prevent permanent housing from being used as a vacation rental. According to the ordinance, while at least one resident lives on-site during their guests’ stay, residents can host visitors in their home for up to 30 consecutive days. While residents applying for home-sharing are required to provide a list of each room and maximum number of overnight guests allowed, the ordinance did not set a limit on the number of guests permitted to stay at once.

An Airbnb listing for a five-bedroom, three-bathroom landmarked property in Santa Monica that can potentially house up to 36 guests at once has members of the community frustrated. According to neighbors, the house is being used as a hostel, with people coming and going at all hours and disturbing residents in the area.

Bloom's Bill to Close Ellis "Loopholes" Headed for Governor's Signature

09/06/2019 9:28 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

A Santa Monica lawmaker's bill that attempts to close loopholes in the Ellis Act was approved by the California Assembly Wednesday and is expected to be signed by the Governor into law.

AB 1399, sponsored by Assemblymember Richard Bloom, places conditions and restrictions on landlords who evict tenants in order to exit the rental market under the 1985 Ellis Act.

Under the bill, owners who remove their units under the Ellis Act can no longer pay the displaced tenants "liquidated damages in lieu of offering them the opportunity to re-rent their former unit," Bloom's office said.

Council Moves to Add Tenant Protections to Small Owner-Occupied Buildings

09/05/2019 8:29 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Monica landlords who occupy their two-and three unit buildings may have to give tenants relocation payments if they jack up the rents.

The City Council last week directed staff to draft an ordinance that gives tenants in owner-occupied duplexes and triplexes -- which are exempted under the City's 1979 rent control law -- the same relocation benefits as rent control tenants.

Thousands of California renters with Section 8 vouchers can’t use them. What lawmakers are doing about it

09/05/2019 8:26 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

State lawmakers are trying to improve a severe shortage of housing available to renters who have federal Section 8 vouchers.

State lawmakers are weighing a significant intervention for a state with an intensifying housing crisis that has become a pillar of Governor Gavin Newsom’s first-year agenda.

Santa Monica Moves to Tighten Strict Home Sharing Law

09/03/2019 1:16 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The nation's strictest home sharing ordinance could be further tightened after the Santa Monica City Council directed staff to look for ways to limit hostel-style operations.

The Council unanimously voted to revisit the ordinance last Tuesday after a single-family home was rented to multiple guests in the City's upscale North of Montana neighborhood.

Newsom and top California lawmakers strike a deal to cap rent increases

08/31/2019 8:49 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Millions of Californians would receive new protections against large rent increases under an agreement announced late Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders.

The deal, which needs the approval of the Legislature in the next two weeks, would cap rent increases statewide at 5% plus inflation per year for the next decade, according to Newsom’s office. The legislation, Assembly Bill 1482, would also include a provision to prevent some evictions without landlords first providing a reason.

Lawmakers tackle a severe housing shortage for renters who have federal vouchers

08/29/2019 6:06 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The biggest federal housing program for low-income renters is failing to help many Californians because there aren’t enough landlords who accept Section 8 vouchers for rent. State lawmakers are considering two solutions, a carrot and a stick.

Hotel Worker Protection Ordinance Passed by Santa Monica City Council

08/28/2019 12:53 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Santa Monica City Council adopted an ordinance to strengthen workplace safety and compensation protections for Santa Monica’s 2,100 hotel housekeepers. The ordinance was recommended by the City’s Commission on the Status of Women in a letter to Council in September 2018.

Big Housing Action Imminent Despite Past Votes

08/28/2019 12:46 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Take rent control, an idea that has strong local support in the 12 California cities where it is now law in some form. One bill by Democratic Assemblyman David Chiu, Wiener’s fellow San Franciscan, would prohibit rent gouging by limiting what it calls “extreme or unreasonable rent increases.” This one, moving steadily toward passage, would limit rent increases to the level of rises in the local Consumer Price Index, plus 5 percent, with the total annual increase capped at 10 percent regardless of what the CPI might do.

Council to consider additional restrictions on home-sharing

08/26/2019 8:47 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The City Council could strengthen Santa Monica’s home-sharing ordinance after a five-bedroom home was converted to an Airbnb housing up to 36 people.

Councilmember Ted Winterer has asked city staff to tighten the part of the ordinance that requires home-share hosts to be permanent residents. He has also proposed limiting the number of home shares that a property owner can operate in the city and how many guests can stay in one room or dwelling.

Council will consider Winterer’s request at its Tuesday meeting and if approved, staff will come back with a detailed proposal at a future meeting.