If you haven’t been living under a rock, you know that the new LA home sharing ordinance will go into effect in just a few short weeks on November 1st. At this point, you’re likely preparing to comply with the law and register your vacation rental.
(If you’re still stumped on what’s going on, check out the quick and skinny on the ordinance at the MaidThis blog.)
However, like you, we at MaidThis continue to be alarmed and concerned about the impact this new ordinance will have – both on our community of hosts and other vacation rental service providers like us.
Now that things are nearly “in place” and the ball is starting to roll with these changes, you may be asking yourself what you can do.
We’re asking ourselves the same question and, as it turns out, we’re not alone: hundreds of hosts and Airbnb service providers across greater Los Angeles are banding together to continue fighting the damaging sides of the new law.
At MaidThis, we’re asking all our hosts to join us in the fight to overturn parts of the ordinance. Here are a few things you can do to get involved with the local movement.
1. Follow and get involved with Homeshare Alliance Los Angeles.
Homeshare Alliance Los Angeles (also referred to as HALA) is a new organization of “homeowners, tenants, cleaners, mom & pop shops, single moms, empty nesters, families of all colors and many different walks of life” who have come together to fight several key points on the LA home sharing ordinance.
HALA is THE group leading the cause and, hands down, the best group to be part of as we continue this fight. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to stay up-to-date on what’s happening and how you can help.
2. Sign the petition on Change.org started by friends at HALA.
The crew at HALA has a goal to reach 2,500 signatures on their petition and they’re nearly there. If we all band together, we can easily surpass that goal!
Sign the petition to let your voice be heard. It just takes a minute and makes a huge impact.
3. Write a short statement of support for the 4 proposed changes to the existing ordinance (1 ordinance and 3 motions).
Unlike many other city councils across the U.S., the L.A. City Council takes the voices of its constituents online very seriously. That’s good news for us!
By tacking on a short comment to the updated ordinance and 3 motions recommended by councilmembers in support of the HALA movement, you add more wood to the fire.
If you can’t make it to city hall to speak in person and get your comments on the record, this is the next best thing to do and a great way to get involved.
Grab the links from HALA’s website and leave a statement on each. Again, your statement doesn’t need to be long, it just needs to clearly support the motion or ordinance.
4. Speak publicly and share your opinion with city council committees on Tuesdays.
You may not be able to speak for long (the maximum time allotted for community speakers is just 1 minute), but your voice makes a serious impact.
HALA recommends signing up to speak at weekly Planning & Land Use Management (PLUM) committee meetings held at 2:30 every Tuesday in City Hall room 340 and we second that recommendation.
However, we also recommend attending the bi-weekly Trade, Travel, and Tourism committee meetings held at 2:00 every 1st and 3rd Tuesday in City Hall room 1060.
Why do we recommend attending two meetings, you ask?
Because councilman Mike Bonin, vice chairman of the Trade, Travel, and Tourism committee, is one of the two councilmembers to have introduced the LA home sharing ordinance in the first place. Councilman Bonin vowed to protect home sharing and “cut down” on what he called “rogue hotels,” but his proposed and soon-to-be-enacted ordinance does more harm than good to genuine hosts.
What better way to express your view on the ordinance than to tell one of the people personally responsible for its enactment?
Here are a few points to hit in either committee meeting:
- By limiting Airbnb/VBRO, etc. hosts, the city of L.A. is making a huge negative impact on its tourism industry. Tourists flock to Airbnb and similar sites because they don’t want to stay in hotels; they want to feel like true locals and vacation rental hosts provide that experience.
- The ordinance directly affects and hurts more than just hosts. Local businesses in the vacation rental services industry, such as cleaning companies and others, will also take a hit from these changes. This will negatively affect the local economy and jobs numbers.
- Many hosts’ short-term rental earnings are their main source of income. Most hosts aren’t “getting rich” off their vacation rental; they’re simply trying to pay the bills and make a living like everyone else. These changes have a deeply negative impact on our local community members.
There are so many simple ways to get involved and share your opinion on the changes that are happening. At MaidThis, we are joining the fight not just for you, but for us, too. The LA home sharing ordinance affects all of us: let’s work together to make a change that helps everyone.
