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I’m a guest the next three days at an airbnb in Hollywood (using my superhost $100 credit plus more.)
After I booked, the host told me to not mention to anyone that I’m an Airbnb guest. What? They aren’t allowed in LA.
Upon arrival this sign is in the elevator:
It’s a very touristy area. I hope I don’t get kicked out. I think this should have been disclosed prior to booking. Anyone know what’s up with the rules in LA?
LA have not banned home sharing, like many other large cities they have brought in restrictions. It is not true that Airbnb is not allowed in LA - it’s just you have to meet the criteria the city council has laid down and apply for a license. Clearly your host hasn’t.
Are you saying the host told post booking but before you arrived that they were operating an illegal Airbnb and you still chose to stay there @PonderosaPines?
Hahahha! I would probably die laughing but also be terrified I’d be found out! I’m sure other guests wouldnt find it so funny. This needs to be reported. Illegal rentals make us all look bad
When you review the place after your stay… in the place where it asks if there’s anything you want to tell Air that the Host won’t see – tell them that he appears to be operating under the radar. It’s apparently a breach of his lease, but not necessarily a violation of LA zoning regulations.
While many Airbnb’s will be illegal and removed on November 1 when the new restrictions begin, this building you are staying at clearly does not have permission from its landlord or HOA (a requirement for any multi-unit building even if you own your unit). It probably has always been illegal to operate in this building.
Starting November 1, all legal Airbnb’s in LA will display a permit number. Airbnb has already started creating a section on the listing to add it. As a future returning guest, I would just look for that.
Well, it could be the owner of the unit and not a tenant …
So you all are saying that you would not use Uber in my country (Costa Rica) as they are operating illegally here in a bit of a grey zone …even though they are cheaper, operate newer cars…perhaps they should up a big sign next to the exit then.
Same with some Airbnb’s …
I’d bet a LOT of money that this is not the case.
In some buildings it could be either or a mixture of both. Many buildings have multiple owners - every condo owned by a different person - but some owners are able to sublet. (Often it’s a percentage of the overall number of apartments). But in that case, the new tenants have to have fully legal leases and usually need to be approved by the condo board. Many, many condo boards and HOAs do not allow STR and
Whatever the situation, the host @PonderosaPines is using needs to be reported. And owners/tenants don’t want to mess with these people - they have astonishing powers written into their fine print.
I’m sure you won’t but I have heard about it happening. And then the leaseholder of the apartment gets evicted. I’m amazed that they take the risk.
In some instances in Los Angeles, when it comes to leased buildings, it is the management themselves that are illegally leasing the space and not disclosing to their other tenants. One of our friends booked one for his mother because it was across the street from their home and the plastic and price tags had not even been removed from the lamps and furniture.
I’m amazed they take the risk too. They have multiple other listings on their Airbnb page and it really seems they do the bare bones for hosting. No dish towels for example—paper towels only. Huh? 1 hand towel and two bath towels for a place with a pool (sleeps 4/ we are 2 guests). I wiped the counters and my wipe was visibly brown afterwards. 2 bathroom light bulbs burnt out and the hallway light too. No shampoo. Walls are dirty everywhere.
I take a lot of care to provide many amenities and make sure my place is clean. This feels a bit like a puppy mill ala Airbnb in a pretty upscale condo complex with a nice pool area. I bet they either lease or own it. I guess location is everything in this instance.
I would put in the review about the host asking to keep quiet about Airbnb and the sign in the elevator. Future guests need to be warned so they can avoid a cancellation or eviction.
This building is the one apparently that has the no STR stipulation in its lease; LA hasn’t fully implemented its ordinance yet and the ordinance will supersede the zoning laws if the host is in compliance with his/her permit. That said, it’s a really uncomfortable way to go! It happened to me once in a city with which I was unfamiliar; ‘don’t mention AirBnB’ … it was frowned upon in the building, but the person was renting her own unit so it wasn’t like a revolving door situation that most of the regulators in LA are trying to avoid (taking somewhat affordable housing in gentrifying neighborhoods and turning them into hotels).
…that and the price.
Unfortunately sometime even as I owner u cannot let ur apartment in some building because u may have few others owner who are against ABB/Short let in General. And building manager like to play scary tactics putting notice like this one everywhere. I know it happened a lot in many country specially during high season. As u saw renting in LA still allowed so 1 part of the message is misleading already and the 2nd part they are talking about Lease owner not owner itself.
That’s right @AlexSJ. I will not use an illegal Uber or Airbnb in your country (next year), or mine.
Such use gives a bad name to all of us who are operating legally. Besides, I don’t break or ignore laws without a darn good reason. Do you?
Unfortunately, many people think “it’s cheaper” is a darn good reason.
@PonderosaPines Laurel, I don’t mean to be rude, but once the host warned you not to “mention to anyone” that you are an Airbnb guest, it should have been pretty obvious to you that this was not a legal rental and that the host was not meeting legal requirements. At that point you should have contacted Airbnb or asked the host to cancel your booking. You took a risk in moving forward with your stay at this property. Do you disagree?
