Los Angeles Airbnb hosts would need permission from the police to do business under an ordinance being considered by the Los Angeles City Council. A “responsible hotel” ordinance would require hotel and short-term rental operators to obtain a police permit each year to do business. Getting that permit would require a criminal background check, the payment of fees totaling hundreds of dollars, and possibly submitting fingerprints to the police. The new regulations come as part of a “compromise” between hotel owners and the hotel workers union Unite Here Local 11. In exchange for the passage of Tuesday’s ordinance, the union has agreed to pull that initiative from the ballot.
The Responsible Hotel Ordinance requires that city planning officials study how new hotel developments will impact housing, public transit, and child care services before issuing permits for new hotels. The findings of city planning officials can also be appealed up to the city council, giving it a direct role in approving individual hotel projects. The permitting procedures will give third parties greater ability to wring concessions out of the sponsors of new hotel projects.
Short-term rental hosts are coming out in strong opposition to the police permitting requirement. Some councilmembers have said they’d consider ways to lower fee costs and avoid fingerprinting requirements. The city council will vote again on the Responsible Hotel Ordinance on Friday.