by Kevin Cody
Hermosa Beach had 247 short term vacation rentals (STVRs) in July, averaging $329 a night, according to the STVR data site AirDNA. Short term vacation rentals, of under 30 days, are illegal in Hermosa Beach, except in the commercial district, where 14 permits have been issued since 2019.
City fines for STVRs in residential neighborhoods run as high as $15,000 per violation. But enforcement of the city’s ban on STVRs in residential neighborhoods has been difficult because the websites advertising STVRs rarely list street addresses, and generally show only interior photos, Hermosa Beach Development Director Carrie Tai told the Hermosa Beach Planning Commission at its Tuesday, August 15 meeting.
Hermosa Beach had 247 short term vacation rentals (STVRs) in July, 76 percent of which were “entire homes,” according to the STVR research site AirDNA.com
“We need live observation (of illegal renting) to issue a citation,” Tai said.
To address the enforcement problem, Tai told the commission, the city has contracted with a software company able to link photos on STVR websites with corresponding street addresses.
Residential property owners identified by the software company as having STVRs will soon be notified that their rentals are illegal, Tai said.
Tai’s discussion of the new enforcement followed the Planning Commission’s unanimous vote at its August 15 meeting to extend by two years the city’s ban on STVRs in residential districts, and to continue to allow them in commercial districts. STVRs in commercial districts pay the city’s 14 percent Transient Occupancy Tax, and a $1,589 annual permit fee.
In urging support of the city’s STVR policy, resident Scott Hayes observed in an email to the Planning Commission, that STVRs unfairly compete against local hotels, and “ take dozens of properties out of circulation for the residents of Hermosa Beach. This increases the demand for long term rental units and increases rents for our residents.”
Planning Commission Peter Hoffman made a similar observation about the impact of STVRs on housing availability.
“People act like illegal STVRs are something we can look the other way on. But these are basically operating as commercial properties, and are contributing to housing being as expensive as it is,” Hoffman said.
According to AirDNA, in July, Hermosa Beach’s 247 STVRs had an occupancy rate of 77 percent, and averaged $7,000 a month or $20.7 million annually. If subject to the city’s 14 percent transient occupancy tax (TOT), the tax could generate approximately $3 million annually, an amount equal to what the city hoped to receive from the sales tax increase voters rejected last November.
Hermosa has 55 properties, with approximately 150 non-conforming residential units in its commercial districts, former Community Development Director Ken Robertson told the City Council in 2019, when the council legalized STVRs in commercial districts. But only 14 STVR permits have been issued by the city, staff told the planning commission at its August 15 meeting.
Manhattan Beach had 277 STVRs in July, of which 92 percent were “entire home rentals” according to the STVR research site AirDNA.com.
Manhattan Beach had 277 STVRs, averaging $427 per night in July, according to Air DNA. STVRs are legal in Manhattan Beach within the coastal zone (1,000 yards inland from the mean high tide).
Redondo Beach had 341 Short Term Rentals in July, of which 71 percent were “entire home rentals,” according to the STVR research site AirDNA.com
Redondo Beach had 341 STVRs, averaging $285 a night in July, according to AirDNA. STVRs are illegal in Redondo Beach. ER