Can I use my home as a short-term rental (STR)?
On November 1, 2019, the City began enforcement of the Home-Sharing Ordinance. Hosts and Hosting Platforms are expected to be in compliance with the ordinance beginning on November 1. Anyone engaging in home-sharing activity must include a valid registration number in the rental listing. Anyone engaging in or advertising short-term rental activity that does not comply with the Home-Sharing Ordinance may be subject to daily fines. More information about fines and enforcement can be found in the Home-Sharing Ordinance and the Administrative Guidelines.
Hosts who wish to share their homes can register by clicking here.
About the Home-Sharing Ordinance
The City Council adopted the Home-Sharing Ordinance (CF 14-1635-S2) in December of 2018. In order to prevent the wholesale conversion of homes into rental properties, the legislation establishes a regulatory framework to restrict short-term rentals to one's primary residence. The Home-Sharing Ordinance requires hosts who wish to engage in short-term rentals to register with the City and post their registration number on all advertisements. Hosts must adhere to all requirements and must use the online portal to register.
The video below explains how to register for the Home-Sharing Program.
Please disregard instructions regarding pending registration numbers as City Planning no longer issues pending registration numbers.
Five Key Steps for Home-Sharing
1. Verify eligibility criteria (see checklist below).
2. For renters and lessees, obtain a notarized affidavit signed by the property owner/landlord authorizing the host to participate in home-sharing.
3. Gather relevant documents to demonstrate primary residency.
4. Complete online registration.
5. Post home-sharing registration number on all listings.
Update: Effective February 16, 2021, City Planning will no longer issue pending registration numbers for Home-Sharing in Los Angeles. Hosts will receive a final registration number via email once the Department has processed and approved their application. Pending registration numbers were issued at the outset of the Home-Sharing Program to assist the City in processing the initial rush of applications, and to allow active, eligible hosts to continue Home-Sharing activities while their applications were under review by Department staff. The volume of new Home-Sharing applications has since leveled off. This procedural change will improve the City’s ability to monitor and enforce against the improper use of provisionally issued registration numbers which are now invalid because they are associated with denied applications.
Update: Regular Home-Sharing application fees will increase from $89 to $183 for applications including renewals submitted after 12 am on December 27, 2021. Extended Home-Sharing application fees will increase from $850 to $982 for applications including renewals submitted after 5 pm on December 23, 2021.
What is the registration process to participate in home-sharing?
To register for home-sharing, an applicant shall file an application and pay the applicable filing fee using the online registration portal. Once hosts submit a complete, qualifying application, they will receive a pending registration status number that may immediately be used to begin advertising the home-sharing listing. When the application is approved, hosts will receive a final registration number that must be included on all listings.
To be eligible to participate in home-sharing, hosts must meet all of the following criteria:
1. The property to be rented must be the host’s primary residence, where they live for more than six months out of the year. Proof of identification and residence will be required to register the rental. More details on acceptable documents are available in the Administrative Guidelines.
2. The residence must not be subject to the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO), which applies to most non-single-family rental units constructed before 1978, or any other affordability provisions such as an affordable housing covenant. For information on whether a property is subject to the RSO, search for the address in ZIMAS (zimas.lacity.org) and check under the “Housing” tab. Please note, the list is subject to change. For more information, please see RSO Overview (hcidla.lacity.org/RSOOverview) or contact the Housing + Community Investment Department (HCIDLA) at (866) 557-7368.
3. The area to be used for home-sharing is approved for residential use. Home-sharing may not take place in a vehicle parked on the property, storage shed, trailer, temporary structure, or other structure not built for residential use.
4. The property to be rented does not have any pending citations, including any active enforcement citation, order, ticket, or similar notice of violation from the Department of Building and Safety, the Housing and Community Investment Department, the Police Department or the Fire Department.
5. If the host is a renter, they have obtained written approval from the landlord to participate in home-sharing. This written approval will need to be notarized and submitted as part of the home-sharing application.
6. The host has either received a Transient Occupancy (Tax) Registration Certificate from the Office of Finance, or agrees to exclusively list on a Hosting Platform that has a Platform Agreement with the City. Hosting Platforms that have entered into a Platform Agreement will be identified on City Planning’s website (planning.lacity.org). The home-sharing registration system will facilitate the requirement for hosts to register to pay Transient Occupancy Tax.
7. The host has completed a home-sharing registration and posted a valid home-sharing registration number on all listings. Listing without a valid home-sharing registration number (or pending registration status) may result in fines.
