Last night Santa Monica’s city council discussed an ordinance that would severely restrict short term rental activity.

Current law in Santa Monica prohibits renting less than 30 days, but it isn’t stringently enforced. The Mayor of Santa Monica, Kevin McKeown, proposed the new regulations to ban “vacation rentals” where the host of the property leaves while the visitors stay. But allow for “home-sharing,” where the rental host stays on the premises while renting a room to a visitor. Also, the ordinance would require short-term rental hosts, to have a business license and pay taxes.

Additionally, vacation rental sites like Airbnb and VRBO would be required to report data about the short-term rental to the city. Supporters of the new measure complain their neighborhoods are noisier with less parking. They have concerns that apartment complexes are being used as vacation rentals instead of renting to people wanting to live long term in the city, making for a greater dearth of housing. Supporters say, homeowners should be able to rent out their properties to help offset the costs of owning or just to make necessary income.

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Guests:

Mayor Kevin McKeown, Mayor of Santa Monica 

David Owen, Regional Head of Public Policy for west coast Airbnb

Robert St. Genis, Director of Operations at The Los Angeles Short Term Rental Alliance, which advocates for Angelenos renting out properties