Airbnb reached a settlement with Santa Monica Tuesday to
collect money from renters for affordable housing in the city and ensure
compliance with strict short-term rental rules.
“The agreement requires all listings in Santa Monica to be
for home-share properties registered with the city and provides assurances
against illegal listings,” according to a statement from the city. “The terms outlined
in the agreement are expected to dramatically reduce illegal home- sharing and
protect housing for residents.”
Councilman Kevin
McKeown added, “We now can better protect real permanent homes, especially our
affordable rent-controlled apartments, from being used as de facto hotel rooms,
displacing our neighbors. This hard-earned settlement is a win for affordable
housing, a win for our neighborhoods, and a win for residents who welcome
guests through legal home sharing.”
A federal appeals court in March unanimously rejected
Airbnb’s challenge of Santa Monica’s 2015 home-sharing ordinance, which
prohibits short-term rentals if the owner is not on the premises. City
officials adopted the ordinance after receiving complaints of disturbances in
normally quiet residential neighborhoods.
Airbnb will now require all listings to have a license
number issued by the city. The company will permit each host to list only one
dwelling and no more than two rooms in that home. Airbnb also will collect $2 a
night from renters and pass it on to the city to be used for affordable
housing. The company charges similar fees in other cities.
“After years of uncertainty for our host community in Santa
Monica, the new settlement agreement provides our hosts the clarity they need
to continue sharing their homes,” said Matt Middlebrook, Airbnb’s director of
public policy in California. “We are proud to support Santa Monica’s efforts to
build and maintain affordable housing and look forward to continuing to work with
city leaders on policies that strengthen the communities our hosts call home,
just as we’ve done in jurisdictions around the world.”
City Attorney Lane Dilg said the agreement would ease
enforcement of the ordinance and help preserve housing.
Santa Monica has 351 registered home-shares, most of them
rented through Airbnb. In addition to requiring hosts to remain on the
premises, the city limits rentals to fewer than 31 days.
Santa Monica Mayor Kevin McKeown said the agreement would
“better protect real permanent homes, especially our affordable
rent-controlled apartments, from being used as de facto hotel rooms,” The
Times reported.
The settlement requires Airbnb to take down illegal listings
when notified by the city. The agreement is effective immediately and is
expected to be fully implemented by the end of January 2020.
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Source: NBC Los Angeles
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