5alive

You didn't know when you rented the unit and what's done is done. But these kind of justifications eat at people from Southern California.

​​​​​​​I lived there in the past. Recent college graduates would be thrilled to live that close to Wilshire District/ Downtown/ Hollywood. And rent controlled apartments are a bonus.

What is difficult is driving to Victorville from Los Angeles. I knew people who did it. They were so exhausted, some nights they didn't go home. Slept on their parents' couch. Wife was home with the kids two hours away.
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Jean

Every unit converted to STR contributes to the rise in rents for the remaining stock. Supply and demand.

The state estimates that L.A. County has a shortage of more than 500,000 affordable housing units. A UCLA study found that the inability to find affordable housing is the reason for more than 20% of the homeless in the County. The L.A. Times reported in June that 16,500 individuals are living in cars and vans. These are people (including families) who for the most part have jobs and income but don't earn enough to pay rent. Zillow estimates the median rent for an apartment in L.A. County is $2500.

MoBro

I think there are less than 20 units at Villa Valentino

janisj

>>In my experience, the term “transient” is always used in a derogatory fashion, as opposed to saying “traveler, tourist, guest, visitor”, etc.

MoBro

Like I said, we can parse words all day long. The way a word is commonly used varies widely from the way it may be defined for various purposes.

""Transient" is the new "N" word. Although commonly used, the word, "transient," is often used to disparage homeless people, much as the "N" word was used in the past to disparage African-American people. . . .. Some housed people use the term "transient" to ridicule homeless people. They use that term to mean a person who is an untouchable, an undesirable, often a lazy, possibly a bad person who is not a member of their community, but only staying in their community to utilize the available services and then the homeless person will be on their way."
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/homel...oh-no_b_480127

P.S. In case anyone is wondering why the number of posts may be down in Fodorville, this is one great example. Why bother to recommend a place, when you know you'll just get bashed, your every word will be argued, and your own experience will be mocked and termed "untrue". Case in point: not one single comment on this thread is by someone who is interested in staying at the place I am recommending. I doubt I'll bother to start a thread again. Just isn't worth it. I'm sure this statement will be bashed, so have at it. I'm out.

MmePerdu

Good news. Posts with tunnel vision aren't very interesting anyway, as in "don't confuse me with the facts."

5alive

Well, I am always looking for a place to stay in the Southland so I did open it with that intent. If you don't believe me, check my search history. Several months ago, I started a post asking about a hotel I was considering in Los Angeles.
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And, "we" are not parsing words. The legal name of the tax is what it is. There is nothing more to be said there, except you are quoting huffpo anyway.


​​​​​​

Jean

Word meaning often depends on the context.

You can hook up (your TV cable) or hook up (with a friend for coffee) or hook up (for sex).

Surfergirl

Per LADBS, the owners submitted an application in June, 2019 to convert the 18 unit apartment building into an apartment hotel/apartment. It was reviewed by an LA City LADBS Supervisor on 8/16. A permit has not yet been issued. See info below.

To correct some of the comments above, the new LA City short term rental ordinance went into effect on July 1st and a host must pay an $89 annual fee. At that time, so long as the rental followed the ordinance (Hosts can only register one property with the city at a time and the property must be their primary residence [where they live at least six months out of the year];Rentals are limited to a 120-day annual cap, and rent-stabilized units are no longer allowed to be used for home-sharing—even if the host owns the unit), it is legal. Enforcement of the ordinance goes into effect on November 1st, to allow hosts to get their act together, pay the fee, and follow the rules.

This property fails to comply with the ordinance and will not be able to comply with the ordinance on many levels. I assume that is why they are seeking to convert it. Based on the timing, it would appear that the owners were hedging their bets on what the ordinance would ultimately look like. Once that was sorted out by the City Council, they saw the light and went forward with the request to convert. That is going to be another lengthy process. I would think the request is not purely ministerial, such as an application for an ADU (accessory dwelling unit, aka granny flat), but will require hearings to hear any opposition or concerns raised.

Application / Permit19016-30000-17917Plan Check / Job No.B19WL03332GroupBuildingTypeBldg-Alter/RepairSub-TypeApartmentPrimary Use(11) HotelWork DescriptionCHANGE OF USE FROM 18-UNIT APARTMENT BUILDING (R2-OCCUPANCY) TO APARTMENT HOTEL/APARTMENT AND TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURE (R1-OCCUPANCY) EQUIPPED THROUGHOUT WITH FIRE SPRINKLERS IN COMPLIANCE WITH NFPA13R, PER CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT DOCUMENT NO. X X X X X X X X (PLAN CHECKER TO FILL IN CUP DOCUMENT NO.).
Permit Issued No
Current Status Reviewed by Supervisor on 8/16/2019Permit Application Status History

Submitted6/13/2019APPLICANTDisabled Access Plans Picked Up7/19/2019APPLICANTAssigned to Plan Check Engineer7/24/2019SERGIO SILVACorrections Issued8/1/2019SERGIO SILVAReviewed by Supervisor8/16/2019KAMRAN GHOTBI RAVANDIBuilding Plans Picked Up8/30/2019APPLICANT

MmePerdu

Surfergirl, thank you. I'm glad to see that a project such as this, not a hotel originally & which deprives actual residents of homes, isn't easy for a developer. It's been a long time since I lived not far from there, the late '80s. I lived on Swall Drive near Cedars-Sinai, a beautiful homogeneous neighborhood of mostly (1920s?) 4-plexes and would hate to think long-time residents, like the lady who made a daily circuit feeding everyone's cats treats, could be evicted for the sake of providing tourist accommodations in an already strained housing market. It's just wrong.

Surfergirl

You are welcome, MmePerdu.

Having a sister living in a rent controlled apt as she is about to turn 65 and just having lost her not well paying full time job to be forced into part time at an even lesser hourly rate and ZERO benefits, your statement that "it's just wrong" reaches out to me on so many levels. Sadly, this sort of thing (and by that I mean taking rent-control housing off the already strained housing market as well as the stress to seniors living on a very fixed income) is prevalent in the City of Los Angeles. And doubtless other cities in the U.S.

While the City of L.A. is allowing the rapid building of more housing units, and greater density in so-called TODs (transit oriented districts), the City's interpretation of this means anywhere there is one bus within 1/2 mile of residential, constitutes a TOD. So developers are out there sucking up single family residences and R-2/R-3 (duplexes and multifamily housing) and creating 6 story cellblocks with minimal parking to purportedly increase the housing shortage. Of course, no one on an average income could afford to live in these places, unless you have roomates with multiple incomes.

I did my part by constructing a legal one bedroom one bath ADU on our property, which I rent out (at 1975 rates) to our son, a college grad with a job who could not afford to live in WLA (or in most parts of LA) otherwise. And if he ever moves out, my sister is waiting in line!

I guess what I'm trying to say here is that as wonderful as these little properties are, and had there been a proper conversion (and there's a lot of this going on in Venice as well) with a proper CoO, and taxes being paid, it would be a lovely alternative to a hotel or motel in the area. But that's not what it is, and it hurts people on a fixed income with no family and nowhere else to go. And there ARE super cool properties, like the Culver Hotel in Culver City that was lovingly restored quite some years back, or the recently restored Hotel Fig in downtown LA where you get the same vibe in very vibrant and walkable areas of town. The Ace Hotel is another. The Downtown Standard is still another (and, for those who remember the old Perry Mason series, the "Brent Building" where Perry Mason worked is what is now the downtown Standard Hotel!

MmePerdu

If anything, the rental situation in the Silicon Valley impacted Bay Area is even worse. That's where I grew up & my son has lived in a rural area of San Mateo County his entire adult life. Not being much of a planner he's a renter, now approaching 50 & is barely able to sustain any kind of lifestyle, let alone a comfortable one. So he'll have to leave, move up here where I am & we'll be going the ADU route as well. He & his daughters will have my house & I'll move to the separate converted garage. I'll be happy to have them but feel his pain of leaving friends in a place he loves. Times are certainly changing & it doesn't look like better to me.

clarkgriswold

They are trying to get a permit/waiver to operate as a "hybrid" because the Omni downtown was successful in doing so for its attached condos. But the Omni was built in 1983, the ordinance forbids apartments built before 1978 to be used as short-term rentals. So good luck with that one.

Now, what happens if they are unsuccessful and must operate the building as an apartment building? They get to bring in all-new tenants at the going rate of $2000 per month after they ejected long-term tenants who were paying half that?

As far as the 120 day thing, how is the city planning to figure out if you've rented your place out for more than 120 days? From tax records? I'm sure there will be some creative ways around that one in a city not known for it's enforcement expertise.

And then there's this caveat.....you can short-term rent for a full 365 days if you wish, as long as you make your case to the planning board that doing so will not adversely affect your neighborhood. Wow. So the planning board is going to sit and listen to 4000 hosts per year as they "make their case"? And if you've rented every day for 120 days in a row with no neighborhood complaints, how is the planning board going to be able to say no when you come in and ask for another 120 day stretch?

Surfergirl

Note that under the new ordinance, the host has to be living in the residence as their primary residence for at least 6 months a year. Meaning, that detached ADU or unpermitted converted detached garage in the back does NOT fall within the ordinance. In other words, I can RENT my ADU, but I am NOT permitted to use it as a short term rental.

We have a neighbor across the street who does Airbnb for her unpermitted converted detached garage. Now we have not had ANY problems with this until last week, when police swarmed our street at around 3:30 a.m. It seems the latest guest went to a bar in West Hollywood and returned with a new friend. Friends of the new friend thought the new friend was being attacked and using a find my friend app found the approximate area where he was. But not sure, these guys jumped six foot fences and tried to break in the next door neighbor's house to find him. All caught on Ring video. Everyone dialed 911 and several police cars arrived in a few minutes. It was very scary. The moral is hosts need to be careful of who they invite and establish rules of the house. And have insurance.

MmePerdu

I'm only aware of the operating practices of Airbnb. Obviously, they keep track of how many nights a property has been booked on their site. I suppose if someone is intent on breaking the rules they can rent on another site when the maximum is reached or any number of other ways to break the law if they're so inclined, as with any other business.

Regarding insurance, Airbnb covers hosts who use their site for, I believe, $1,000,000.

clarkgriswold

Yeah they can check tax records to try and figure out if you have rented the place out for more than 120 days per year, but how is anyone going to verify that they've been living in their house for six months? It could be vacant for all the "authorities" know.

I don't know why surfergirl cannot STR her unit, is it not considered a "guest house"? Guest houses are treated like rooms-in-a-home, they are okay even in West Hollywood and Santa Monica....as long as the owners are living on the property during the rental period.

MoBro

"They are trying to get a permit/waiver to operate as a "hybrid" because the Omni downtown was successful in doing so for its attached condos."

clarkgriswold, do you know how we can find out the final decision on this property?

Surfergirl

Clark - I can't STRr my ADU (assuming I wanted to) because the new ordinance has placed restrictions on legal, permitted ADUs. I could only STR my unit if I lived there (as opposed to the main house) as MY primary residence. Now, if my son became a host and wanted to STR the ADU he lives in, he could do that, if he had my permission.

What's interesting is that this restriction only applies to guest homes built in or after 2017; guest homes built prior to that time are exempted IF they have a certificate of occupancy permitting a person to live in the space. However, because the current ADU (statewide) statute became effective on January 1, 2017, making the City of LA's restrictive ADU ordinance null and void, that opened the door to getting permits on a ministerial (i.e. rubber stamp) basis rather than having to go through an expensive, often lengthy hearing. Some people had done that in the past. However, most of the guest houses (converted garages, or new purported "rec rooms" above the garage) in years past were not permitted as a dwelling unit. They are the units that have been used for AirBNB type purposes. But the fact of the matter is, because they are not permitted dwelling units, they also fall outside the new LA STR ordinance. Because of the new ADU ordinance, though, getting the unpermitted conversion permitted is pretty easy, and no longer incurs penalties and automatic tear downs. Instead, the inspector comes out, checks the unpermitted unit, then gives you a check list on what needs to be done to get it legally permitted.

As I am a permit nut (meaning I follow the rules), as soon as the statute became effective, I obtained the permits and built the second story ADU over the detached garage.

The STR ordinance is attached to the link below.

faq.pdf

starrs

I stayed in the Hilton Garden Inn last week. It appears to be across the street. Highly recommend.

MoBro

Yes, the location is a 'hotel row'. I had checked them all, but we prefer at least a suite, not just a hotel room, and were very pleased with the apartment set-up.

The Villa Valenino entry is hard to find, hidden in greenery, between hotels and other commercial properties. Next door to it is the BLVD hotel and suites. It's also close to the Best Western, Lexen, Holiday Inn Express and others.

I hope owners meet the city's requirements, and it will be available for years to come. It really is an architectural gem.