Can Los Angeles Regulate Airbnb?

The customary tranquility of Los Angeles' Venice Canals neighborhood is falling prey to short-term rental fever. "[Residents] told Los Angeles officials that [a] house had been illegally turned into a kind of hotel, rented out for a few days at a time through websites such as Airbnb and VRBO," reports Emily Alpert Reyes.

Although residents claimed that the host, and his raucous tenants, violated local regulations, "the city terminated its case in May without taking further action 'due to insufficient proof,' according to Department of Building and Safety spokesman David Lara."

These conflicts have provoked debate about how much information cities should have about short-term rental hosts. "Critics fear that even if Los Angeles prohibits 'bad' rentals — operators buying up apartments or homes and renting them out nonstop like hotels — it will be powerless to control them unless platforms turn over information about their hosts, an idea that Airbnb has resisted."

A representative from Airbnb argues that the problems would be easier to address if city regulations were simpler and clearer. Permanent residents are doubtful whether the city will even make an effort.