Los Angeles

Operating rules

Primary residence

Yes

Min stay (nights)

—

Max nights / year

120

Max occupancy

No more than 2 overnight guests (not including children) are allowed per habitable room, not including kitchens, during home-sharing activities (LAMC 12.22 A.32(d)(11)).

Zoning-restricted

Yes

Cap on licenses

No citywide numeric cap on the number of registrations, but no person may apply for or obtain more than one Home-Sharing registration, or operate more than one home-sharing rental unit, at a time in the City of Los Angeles (LAMC 12.22 A.32(c)(2)(ii)(d)).

Grandfathering: None. The regulations apply to all properties engaging in short-term rental, including those operating before adoption; existing operators had to complete online registration before enforcement began November 1, 2019. Operating or advertising on or after that date without an approved (or pending) registration number is a violation.

Zoning: Home-sharing is permitted only in zones where residential uses are permitted by right, and only as an accessory use to the host's primary residence. It may not occur in a non-residential building, including a vehicle parked on the property, storage shed, trailer, or any temporary structure such as a tent. Accessory Dwelling Units for which a complete building permit application was submitted on or after January 1, 2017 may not be used for home-sharing unless the ADU is the host's primary residence.

• Standard home-sharing is capped at 120 days per calendar year; the cap is lifted (unlimited days) only with an approved Extended Home-Sharing registration (LAMC 12.22 A.32(d)(3), (h)).
• Prohibited property types: units subject to the Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO, per the City FAQ 'most non-single-family rental units constructed before 1978'), affordable-housing-covenanted or income-restricted units, and buildings converted from RSO units to single-family homes (barred until five years after the date of conversion) (LAMC 12.22 A.32(c)(2)(ii)(b), (d)(8)).
• Only one listing/booking of the primary residence may be occupied at a time; a host may not rent to more than one group of guests, or under more than one booking, simultaneously (LAMC 12.22 A.32(d)(6)-(7)).
• No use of sound-amplifying equipment after 10:00 pm and no evening outdoor congregations of more than 8 people (excluding children) during home-sharing (LAMC 12.22 A.32(d)(12)).
• Hosts must keep and preserve home-sharing records (including length of stay and price paid for each stay) for a minimum of three years (LAMC 12.22 A.32(e)(2)).
• Two citations trigger a 30-day suspension (or as long as at least one citation remains open, whichever is longer, effective 15 days after a Notice of Intent to Suspend); three citations sustained within a registration year trigger revocation and a one-year prohibition on home-sharing (LAMC 12.22 A.32(c)(4)).

Enforcement

Active enforcement

unknown

Fines

Administrative fines under LAMC 12.22 A.32(g)(4) (issued via the ACE program, Article 1.2). Owner of Primary Residence and/or Host and/or Person: a daily fine of $500, or two times the nightly rate charged (whichever is greater), for advertising a rental unit for short-term rental in violation of the ordinance; and a daily fine of $2,000, or two times the nightly rent charged (whichever is greater), for each day of home-sharing activity beyond the 120-day limit in a calendar year, unless the host holds a valid Extended Home-Sharing registration. All other violations are fined per LAMC Section 11.2.04(a)(2). Hosting Platforms face a $1,000-per-day fine per listing for completing a booking without a valid/pending registration number, for a host with more than one property or a mismatched address, for a listing whose registration is revoked/suspended, or for a listing that exceeded the 120-day limit without Extended approval. Fine amounts are adjusted annually from the ordinance effective date per the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).