Welcome to my article Airbnb Rules of Los Angeles & Los Angeles County Airbnb regulations. I break down the basics to help you navigate the gauntlet of the short and long-term rental market in Los Angeles. From Los Angeles Airbnb regulations, Los Angeles Airbnb laws, Los Angeles rental regulations, and hopefully your Los Angeles Airbnb questions.
One of the Los Angeles Airbnb questions I get asked a lot from folks who come to our open houses is, “What are the rules for Airbnb in this area.”? It always helps to know the answer, or where to find it in the fast-paced real estate market of Los Angeles. Covid-19 may not be going anywhere anytime soon, but neither is one of the fastest trends in income property investing. This article Airbnb Rules of Los Angeles & Los Angeles County Airbnb regulations will outline some of the basics for Los Angeles County’s short and long-term Airbnb rental regulations, Los Angeles County Airbnb night limits for hosting, and Los Angeles County Airbnb occupancy taxes.
When deciding whether to become an Airbnb host, it’s important for you to understand the laws in your city. As a real estate brokerage we do not provide legal advice, but we want to provide some useful links that may help you better understand laws and regulations in Los Angeles. This list is not exhaustive, but it should give you a good start in understanding your local laws. We’ll continue to update this information as more becomes available. If you have questions, contact the Department of City Planning or other city agencies directly, or consult a local lawyer or tax professional.
Based on Home Sharing Ordinance (CF 14-1635-S2), home-sharing is permitted in Los Angeles if your listing is your primary residence. Hosts are required to register with the city and post their permit number on their listing or claim a valid reason for exemption, in order to comply with the ordinance. Listings without a permit number or exemption posted will be blocked from hosting short-term stays (less than 30 nights at a time) in Los Angeles.
You can learn more about what’s required for your short-term listing regulations in the sections below.
If you plan to host your primary residence for more than 120 days per calendar year, you’ll need to apply for extended home-sharing. Extended home-sharing registration is a 4-step process:
LOS ANGELES COUNTY AIRBNB NIGHT LIMITS FOR HOSTING:
Local laws in Los Angeles require that you only host guests in your place for a maximum of 120 nights per calendar year unless you’ve received an extended home-sharing permit. If you use the same registration number for multiple listings, like an entire home and a private room at the same address, you can only host guests for a maximum of 120 nights across both listings All nights booked for a listing after a valid Home-Sharing Registration Number or Pending Number has been issued (whichever is earlier) in a calendar year count towards the 120-night limit. Once you reach your city’s 120-night limit, you won’t be able to accept short-term reservations for the rest of the calendar year. The verdict is out for ADUs and we’ll update this article as the rules and regulations continue to develop. This outlines the basics of Los Angeles rental regulations as it pertains to current Los Angeles Airbnb laws.
LOS ANGELES TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX:
Guests who book Airbnb listings that are located in Los Angeles, CA will pay the following taxes as part of their reservation:
As the City of Los Angeles imposes a 14% transient occupancy tax on the listing price (including cleaning fees) for stays of 30 nights or less. Airbnb collects and remits the City transient occupancy tax. However, hosts are still required to file monthly returns to the Office of Finance and should take a deduction for tax collected and remitted by Airbnb (and any other applicable platform). For more information about the City’s transient occupancy tax, visit the City’s FAQ page. In addition, Los Angeles County applies a transient occupancy tax on any unincorporated areas within the county, which applies to broad categories of transient use. “Transient use” is defined as a guest stay of 30 days or less. Airbnb currently does not collect the County transient occupancy tax. More information about the County transient occupancy tax is available on the County’s FAQ page.
More information about fines and enforcement can be found in the Home-Sharing Ordinance and the Administrative Guidelines.
August 16th 2023:
Effective July 1, 2023, City Planning fees will increase by 4.9% based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (CPI-U). You can view the updated Fee Schedule here.
Home-Sharing is currently experiencing a high volume of emails and phone calls. Please be assured that ALL inquiries will be responded to as quickly as possible, in the order they were received. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Already submitted an application for a Home-Sharing registration? At this time, registration processing averages 20 business days. Please check both your email inbox and spam/junk folders for emails from no-reply@mg.hostcompliance.com as you will receive updates from this email regarding registration approvals, denials, and requests for corrections/additional information. Do not submit multiple applications for a Home-Sharing registration, unless advised to do so by staff.
The Department of City Planning maintains a website with detailed information regarding Home-Sharing: planning.lacity.org/project-
To apply for or renew a regular Home-Sharing Registration or an Extended Home-Sharing registration, please utilize our online registration portal: https://safe.hostcompliance.
October 16th 2023:
The Los Angeles City Council adopted the Home-Sharing program to prevent the wholesale conversion of housing into Short-Term Rentals. The program created a regulatory framework to restrict Short-Term Rentals to a Host’s primary residence. All Short-Term Rentals in the City of Los Angeles must be properly registered for Home-Sharing with the City. This does not apply to City-recognized hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, or Transient Occupancy Residential Structures (TORS), which are exempt from the Home-Sharing regulations.
For more information on the Home-Sharing program, please visit our website HERE
I am a Californian born here in Los Angeles. As a top graduate of the AACSB internationally accredited California State University of Los Angeles School of Business and Economics, I have accelerated my career as a residential real estate advisor by combining my passion for California history, writing, architectural preservation, and extensive sales background. My marketing and negotiation skills, combined with community outreach have helped me build a solid reputation with our clients.
I am a Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES®) working closely in the communities that we serve with our mature clients. When I am not listing or selling some of California’s finest homes, I turn my focus to early 20th-century California collectibles. My e-commerce business Golden State Decor on Etsy celebrates the rich history of the Golden State with one-of-a-kind procured items while contributing directly to the California Conservation Corps Foundation.
