LOS ANGELES -What's going on in LOS ANGELES re Airbnb

@cabin host --just that different cities are viewing STR differently…some city councils allow apartment dwellers to host guest as long as the host lives there. Other cities don’t want their neighborhoods infused with transients (e.g. West Hollywood prohibits Airbnb altogether). Some cities only allow home owners to rent out a room in their home, as long as the host is present–each city has a different take, and therefore different rules on govering airbnb type listings.

Some homeowners in nice quiet neighborhoods are being fought hard by other neighbors who want a more stable peaceful neighborhood…I have heard TONS of testimoney on both sides of the issue in the last 9 months! The council vote is coming up fairly soon (there have been some significant changes in the proposed ordinance based on all that testimony)

Yes, yes…I understand that many cities are putting their own restrictions on Airbnbs. But even if they are…my point and I think Kona’s is- if the landlord does not give permission to the person on the lease, then it doesn’t even matter what the local laws are.

If I was a renter who did this…I would be thanking my lucky stars that no guests tried to sue for anything, and would just take the money I made and run - be thankful I made what I did when I did. That’s all…

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You may soon be “wrong” too Good luck!

http://westhawaiitoday.com/news/local-news/council-resolution-tackles-transient-vacation-rentals

I live in the Los Angeles area. You are right, Air is not banned but some areas are putting restrictions on short term rentals I believe; but that applies to property owners not renters. Renters should assume they’re eventually going to get caught by their property managers or property owners. There is virtually always a “no subletting” clause in the rental agreement the tenant signs.

A year or so ago I used to see loads of listings in my area that were obviously renters doing Air. The tip off was, “Please do not speak to the neighbors…or…If anyone asks you are friends just visiting…” I don’t see as many, but there are still some.

I sympathize with renters trying to make ends meet, especially since rents around here have gone through the roof, but it’s still not fair to the property owner for obvious reasons.

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They are talking about places where owners live off the island. And owners who don’t collect tax. Also this article was from October 2015. Nice try.

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What kind of host am I?
I am a fully compliant HOMEOWNER who owns my home, pays taxes, insurance and maintenance and collects and pays the proper rate of Hawaii excise tax and transient accommodations tax. I own a single family home in a private neighborhood where short term rentals are allowed by our homeowners association, which I also pay dues to.

Also I’ve been doing this six and a half years. I’m responsible and responsive and give my guests a GREAT Hawaii experience at an affordable price. Since 2009. So I didn’t fall off this turnip truck yesterday.

What kind of host are you? Well for starters you opened an Airbnb account knowing it was probably not allowed, and you didn’t care. Then you let 18 poor guests get canceled on because of your own irresponsibility. And then lied and told Air it was due not to your own getting busted but because of the upcoming regulations beyond your control. Am I right??? And you call me a bad host?

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Nice try. This is meaningless. They are not even talking about what I am doing. And it is dated October of last year.

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EXACTLY… If you want to put someone at risk, save your money, buy your own place and then do Air when you own it.

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Quote from the article: “The County of Hawaii does not have any vacation rental laws,” Osgood said. “It doesn’t exist in our county code.”

Complaints on the Big Island haven’t reached the levels seen on other islands, Planning Director Duane Kanuha said Monday.

No real action has been taken on this issue recently, other than the governor vetoing allowing the companies to collect tax on our behalf.

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Wrong. Not on my island:

“The County of Hawaii does not have any vacation rental laws,” Osgood said. “It doesn’t exist in our county code.”

Complaints on the Big Island haven’t reached the levels seen on other islands, Planning Director Duane Kanuha said Monday.

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Where do you get this from? As I’ve been a forum member here for some time, I can assure you that every host here who posts regularly pays their taxes, their TOT and have completely legal rentals.

Airbnb is an advertising platform, that’s all. If it’s illegal in your city or if you are sub-letting it’s you who is illegal. Airbnb cannot investigate every rental, any more than Autotrader can ensure that every car they offer for sale has legal tyres. Check Airbnb’s TOS.

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Totally, and completely agree. Not only is it not fair to the owner, but it is NOT fair to the other tenants. I am always on the watch for people short term renting their apartments in my rental building and I am thoroughly committed to stopping it.

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@konacoconutz - you are my new hero.

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tara just doesn’t get it, or rather doesn’t want to get it, because if the roles were switched and Tara were the property owner with loads of tourists coming through his/her property without his/her knowledge–over-taxing the plumbing, floor coverings. etc.–the tune he/she would be singing would be quite different.

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I will also reiterate here what I have been saying in other threads, Airbnb knows the STR landscape is being wiped away, in their super big markets anyway. They are trying to redefine their business model because of legislation like that discussed here and because Air themselves are being sued by local municipalities.

And, if you think you’re gonna go out and buy a property specifically to Airbnb, DON’T. Not unless you really, really know what you’re doing and understand the demand in your market.

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I feel like I need to jump in here, having 2 properties, and a 3rd on the way, that we bought with the main goal of ABB (we also thought what was best for ABB when we bought our main residence, as we rent it when we are abroad) . Yes, we picked destinations that we also liked to visit, were possibly close, although that was an epic fail once we got moved back to the US. I digress.

I don’t think buying with the purpose to STR is a bad idea, BUT you need to understand/know your local laws, and also understand how they are enforced. If you live in a place like one of our properties, STR is technically not ‘legal’ under the whatever code, is it enforced, not really, and the City Council is drafting new legislation currently to allow STR. I am taking a risk, but it’s worth it for us. That being said tomorrow I could be shut down and I would have to recalibrate my plan.

I would never buy in a place like LA/SF/NYC where the laws are fierce and enforced fully, that is just asking for trouble $$$. However, parts of the world and their laws, have not caught up to STRs yet, even though they have been happening forever, but ABB made them main stream and put STRs in the spotlight.

My parting thought if you buy for ABB, do your research and decide if the risk is worth it for YOU, no one else can make that decision.

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@azreala my complete comment included this:

And that includes the laws.

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Sorry I’m so late chiming in on this but I thought you might all like to know how Boulder solved the STR issue – STR can ONLY be done with an owner’s prime residence; renters are not allowed to do STR, even for an extra bedroom, even if they have the landlord’s permission. If you have two dwellings on your property (such as a carriage house), only one can be the STR and you can not switch back and forth from one dwelling to the other; choose one and that’s the STR. No restrictions on days per year. By making your place a primary residence, it cannot be deeded to an LLC or other business (it must be deeded to the actual homeowner), your child’s school mail address needs to be the primary residence, as does your voter and car registration.

As far as whether this is a commercial enterprise and how the law sees it as opposed to HOAs – (1) A Case in Colorado, Houston V. Wilson Mesa Ranch HOA, where a court affirmed that short term rentals are not a commercial use of property but a residential use. (Source: http://globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/1456/court-cases-short-term-rentals)

I own my townhome and, until recently, my HOA was fine about it, but recently they told me that I’m not compliant with the new regulations. I told them that I have a STR license. They said, well you don’t really live there. I thought about it for a bit and then told them that, indeed, my wild teenage daughter, my rescue dog with issues, and I will now be living there between guests and, unfortunately, it won’t solve the problem of people coming and going that they don’t know because my daughter has a lot of friends (who smoke a lot of pot, byw). And, if the teenagers are too loud or a police vehicle shows up, please don’t hesitate to call me. I have a couple of open nights next week; we will move in for the first time (my daughter and I have only spent one night there up till now), which will give me a chance to do paint touch-up and other maintenance. Funny, though, once I told them that my daughter and I will be there between guests, I never did receive the letter from the HOA they told me was coming.

The issue in Boulder is that there is not enough low-cost housing. There are also not enough hotel rooms. My place would never be affordable as a LTR as it is completely remodeled and in an awesome location. Plus, I will actually move there in a couple of years, after my daughter goes off to college. I will continue to stand my ground with the HOA as I am a “money grubbing” person (actually, a single mom who is doing her best to support myself and my daughter). The HOA rules had no minimum rental period when I bought my place. They do, now, for new owners but I am grandfathered in.

In conclusion, I am abiding by the law, paying 7.5% tax to the City of Boulder, and, after next week, I will not only be compliant with the laws on paper, I will also be compliant in person. I have the sneaky suspicion that I am only a handful of Boulder STR hosts who are compliant. I would rather pay the 7.5% tax and be compliant than be shut down. The upside (for me, being money grubbing and all that) is there seem to be fewer listings in Boulder on Airbnb (supply and demand!).

Hope this info was helpful to anyone in an area where the government is looking to restrict STRs. Good luck in LA!

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No, mostly all legal.
Private rentals and boarding houses have been there for ages, long before internet existed.

For at least 50% of the listings AirBnB is just a new channel, to promote their long existing business.

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Taratree has shut down her airbnb and is looking for another place to live, probably so she can continue to do airbnb, but this time, legally. Her taunting of @konacoconutz, her berating people in posts half of it in ALL CAPS, accusing people of being greedy when she herself is violating her lease is pretty annoying. That said I found her profile and she has been a member since early 2012 and has almost 300 nice reviews. I’d be cranky too if I got shut down and had to move.

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