22. April 2026

THE AIRBNB PROBLEM (August 2016)

Short term/vacation rentals, through AirBnB and otherwise, have plagued many communities in recent times.  Some common interest developments have amended their governing documents to prohibit these problematic rentals.  For developments that have not done so and for other communities, one way to combat this problem is the local zoning laws.  For example, in a recent case (Chen v. Kraft), a resident was renting out a spare bedroom on a short term basis through AirBnB.  The property was in an R-1 residential zone within the City of Los Angeles.  Under the Los Angeles Zoning Code, bed and breakfasts and transient occupancies are not permitted in R-1 zones.  Accordingly, the court found the short term rentals to be illegal.