The day of reckoning has come for landlords who illegally convert their properties into short-term rentals in the City of Los Angeles. On Monday, City Attorney Mike Feuer announced the filing of criminal charges against the owner of a four-unit complex, claiming she kicked her tenants out so she could list the units on Airbnb.
Now, that’s cold.
This is the first time the city has prosecuted a landlord for operating illegal short-term rentals. The criminal case is being pursued alongside three civil suits brought by the city against owners who also illegally converted their properties into hotels.
The criminal and civil cases are part of a city effort to crack down on illegal lodging conversions. The effort is critical, officials believe, because of a dearth of affordable places to live within the city.
“Given that shortage of affordable housing, illegally converting rental units to hotels or short-rentals has got to stop,” Feuer said. “And my office is going to intervene to preserve rent-stabilized units and to restore those units when we allege they have been unlawfully taken off the market.”
Read more about the city’s latest move here.
Image Credit: Flickr User froderik, https://flic.kr/p/g2ac67 via (CC BY-SA 2.0)