City Council

(28) 14-1635-S10 HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS COMMITTEE REPORT relative to the Home-sharing vendor evaluation, process enhancements, compliance strategies, and staffing needs for home-sharing and residential hotels enforcement; and related matters. Recommendations for Council action: 1. NOTE and FILE the Department of City Planning (DCP) reports dated October 4, 2023, March 13, 2024, and November 1, 2024, attached the Council file, relative to the home-sharing vendor evaluation, process enhancements, compliance strategies, and staffing needs for home-sharing and residential hotels enforcement; and related matters. 2. NOTE and FILE the City Attorney report dated November 26, 2024, attached to the Council file, relative to the Home Sharing Ordinance enforcement. 3. NOTE and FILE the Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) report dated November 27, 2024, attached to the Council file, relative to additional recommendations regarding staffing needs for effective home- sharing enforcement. 4. REQUEST the City Attorney, in consultation with the DCP and other relevant departments, to report to Council on the selection, appointment, retention and hiring of qualified hearing officers to conduct Administrative Citation Enforcement Program (ACE) related hearings in order to strengthen and create efficiency in the current program. 5. INSTRUCT the DCP, with the assistance of the City Attorney, and other relevant departments, to prepare and present an amendment to the Ordinance to require that the LAHD and Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) conduct property inspections prior to permit issuance. 6. INSTRUCT the DCP, with the assistance of the City Attorney, and other relevant departments, to prepare and present an amendment to the Ordinance to require that platforms conduct an electronic verification of listings prior to booking transactions, similar to New York City’s program. 7. INSTRUCT the LAHD to report back on the feasibility of identifying and monitoring, on no less than a yearly basis, the City’s Mixed Use Residential Hotel stock, that include both tourist units (which are short- term) and residential units (which are long-term), with recommendations for stricter enforcement approaches for this protected housing stock. 8. RESOLVE that the LAHD, LADBS, and other enforcing departments, in consultation with the City Attorney, should use the administrative fine amounts specified by Chapter 1, Article 1.2, Section 11.2.04(a) of the Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) for violations of the Home Sharing Ordinance where applicable. 9. INSTRUCT the CAO and the Chief Legislative Analyst (CLA), in consultation with the DCP, LADBS, LAHD, City Attorney, and any other relevant departments, to report to Council for additional staffing and resources required across departments for any amendments to the Home-Sharing Ordinance to support enforcement. 10. INSTRUCT the CAO and the CLA, in consultation with the DCP, LADBS, LAHD, City Attorney, and any other relevant departments, to report to Council on options for creating a single office, division, or department related to Home-Sharing administration and enforcement, Party House enforcement, and enforcement of other related commercial activities on residential properties, which includes a recommended organizational structure, staffing plan, and funding, including the impacts of existing vacant positions, and funding needed to effectively resource the program. This should include a consideration of moving complaint investigation and citation defense from the DCP to other departments. 11. INSTRUCT the DCP, in consultation with the City Attorney and the CAO, to prepare and present a fee study updating the LAMC 19.01 T. Home- Sharing Registration and Renewal Fees and LAMC Section 12.22.A.32(e)(5) Home-Sharing per-night fee to reflect full cost recovery. 12. REQUEST the City Attorney to draft a Private Right of Action clause for the City's Home-Sharing Ordinance that would allow any interested party to pursue Private Right of Action to enforce the law when unlawful activities occur, potentially modeled after the False Claims Act to allow a person to bring an action on behalf of the City, give the City an opportunity to intervene to ensure its interests are adequately represented; and allow the person bringing the action to share a portion of the damages, fines or penalties imposed. 13. INSTRUCT the Office of Finance to report to Council on potential tax revenue loss if the City disallowed Extended Home-Sharing registrations. Fiscal Impact Statement: The LAHD reports that the report is provided for informational purposes, and as such, there is no impact to the General Fund. However, additional funding would be required to support the necessary resources identified in this report, and given that there are limited enforcement resources currently available in the Home-Sharing Rental Enforcement Trust Fund (Ordinance No. 186197; Council file No. 14-1635-S7), a new fee study analyzing both the registration and Per Night Fee would be required.