Los Angeles Municipal Code Div. 10 Hotels and Short-Term Rentals

(Added by Ord. No. 188,072, Eff. 7/1/24.)

Section 103.400 Hotel Permit. 103.401 Definitions. 103.402 Permit Required; Renewal. 103.403 Application for Permit. 103.404 Grounds for Denial of Application. 103.405 Disciplinary Action – Grounds. 103.406 Licensing Fee Schedule. 103.407 Regulations.

Permits under this division shall be governed by the procedures and requirements of Chapter X of this Code, and additionally as specifically provided in this division, except that Section 103.34.1 of this Code shall not apply to a Hotel. The City Council retains its authority of Charter Section 245 for actions of the Board in relation to this division.

SEC.103.401. DEFINITIONS.

As used in this division:

1. “Applicant” means the Hotel Owner and/or Hotel Operator seeking a Permit under this division.

2. “Guest Room” means any room, suite of rooms, dwelling unit, cottage, or bungalow intended to be used by a guest of a Hotel for transient sleeping purposes.

3. “High Occupancy Lodging” means an establishment with 80 or more guest rooms intended for short-term lodging.

4. “Hotel” means an establishment that provides temporary lodging for payment in the form of overnight accommodations in guest room(s) to transient patrons for periods of 30 consecutive calendar days or less.
“Hotel” includes hotels, motor lodges, motels, apartment hotels, transient-occupancy residential structures, private residential clubs, tourist courts, High Occupancy Lodging, Low Occupancy Lodging, Medium
Occupancy Lodging, Short-Term Rentals as defined in Section 12.22 A.32. of this Code, and hostels that contain both dormitory-style accommodations and private guest rooms that may be reserved, meeting the
definition set forth above. Except as provided above, the term “Hotel” does not include corporate housing, rooming houses, boarding houses, single-room occupancy housing, a residential hotel as defined in
Section 50519 of the California Health and Safety Code, or any housing available only to students of an education institution, or licensed bed and breakfast establishments within a single unit residence.

5. “Hotel Operator” means a Person who is either the proprietor of the Hotel or the manager, employee, or agent of the proprietor.

6. “Hotel Owner” means a Person who has title to the premises that operates as a Hotel.

7. “Permit” means a permit issued under this division.

8. “Low Occupancy Lodging” means a residential or commercial structure intended for lodging, when at maximum occupancy, is capable of providing short-term lodging for fewer than 18 persons.

9. “Medium Occupancy Lodging” means an establishment with 6 to 79 guest rooms for short-term lodging or other business capable of or intended for providing short-term lodging for 18 or more persons.

10. “Permittee” means any person holding a Permit under this division.

11. “Person” means an individual, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability company, business trust, estate, trust, association, joint venture, agency,
instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity, whether domestic or foreign.

(a) Except as provided in Subsection (c), no Hotel Operator shall operate a Hotel located in the City of Los Angeles until the Hotel Operator has obtained a written Permit from the Board pursuant to this division.

(b) The Permit required under this division must be renewed annually. A Permit shall be issued unless a valid concern is raised via a public complaint of a public nuisance, public safety risk, record of violations of other sections of this ordinance, or the background check has identified concerns that require further investigation. A public hearing is only required at the request of the Police Commission Board staff.

(c) Absent a valid concern raised in the permitting process, an inspection of the property will not be necessary and the application shall include photographs of the concerned property within the parameters established by the Board.

(d) The Hotel Owner or the Hotel Operator of a Hotel in operation as of the effective date of this division shall submit an application pursuant to Section 103.403 of this Code within three months of the effective date of this division, and shall be permitted to continue to operate hotel operations while such application is pending.

(a) An application for a Permit shall be filed electronically on a form and in a manner prescribed by the Board.

(b) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, the Applicant must include the following information as part of its completed application:

1. The name, telephone number, email address, and business mailing address of the Applicant. If the Applicant is a corporation, include the names and business addresses of the directors, officers, and person(s) authorized to accept service of process on behalf of such corporation and attach a copy of the articles of incorporation. If the Applicant is a partnership, include the names and business addresses of each managing partner;

2. The exact location of the Hotel;

3. The name of the Hotel;

4. The name and business address of every Person having an interest of not less than 10 percent in the Hotel Ownership, as applicable, and the amount thereof;

5. The name and business address of every Person holding title of the Hotel premises, or any part thereof equal to or greater than one-tenth of the whole. If any such Person is a corporation, the same information as required of a corporate Applicant;

6. A description of the Hotel proposed to be permitted, including: (i) the ancillary services offered in addition to lodging; (ii) the total number of Guest Rooms at the Hotel; and (iii) the number and description of each type of Guest Room at the Hotel, including but not limited to the number of suites and the number of units with kitchens or kitchenettes;

7. A description, including all relevant dates, of any conduct or condition that qualifies as grounds for the denial of an application as set forth in Section 103.31(a) or Section 103.404 of this Code, with respect to the Applicant and with respect to any Person described in Subsections 4. and 5.;

8. For Low Occupancy Lodging and Short-Term Rentals, the primary platform(s) this property will be listed on and available for booking, and the Home Sharing Registration number;

9. The Applicant agrees to ensure that the Hotel Operator shall conform to state law requirements for human trafficking training to prevent human trafficking and solicitation at the premises; and

10. Acknowledgment that the Permit may be suspended or revoked upon a finding by the City that the Applicant has failed to comply with these requirements.

(c) The Board shall maintain a list that is publicly available, for each application, containing the name of the Applicant or Applicants, the business address of the proposed permitted Hotel premises, the date of any initial Permit issued to the Applicant for the same premises, the date on which the most recent application was submitted, the date on which the most recent Permit was issued, the expiration date of any current Permit that has been granted, and any changes in ownership reported by the Applicant in the period since the last application was submitted.

The Board may deny a Permit on any of the grounds listed in Section 103.31(a) of this Code or on any of the following additional grounds:

(a) The Applicant has within five years immediately preceding the date of filing of the application been found to have intentionally or materially violated any federal, state, or local employment law;

(b) The Applicant has within five years immediately preceding the date of filing of the application been convicted of violating Section 487(m) of the California Penal Code;

(c) The Permittee, has knowingly allowed or permitted prostitution, solicitation of prostitution on the premises, loud and unruly gatherings in violation of the law, illicit drug manufacturing or sales on the

premises;

(d) The Applicant has in the past 12 months been found to have listed a Short-Term Rental in the City of Los Angeles without having a Home Sharing Registration number from the Department of City Planning;

(e) The Applicant has in the past five years allowed a property that is being used as a Low Occupancy Lodging to be cited for a noise complaint more than five times in a 12-month period; or

(f) The Applicant has in the past five years allowed a property that is being used as a Short-Term Rental to be used as a party house that causes Loud and Unruly gatherings more than two times in a 12-month

period within the City.

1. Been convicted of a felony or other crime involving human trafficking, sex trafficking, theft (including wage theft), embezzlement or moral turpitude, or any crime committed on the premises of or in connection with the operation of the Hotel;

2. Violated any federal, state, or local employment law with respect to the operation of the Hotel; or

3. Violated any federal, state, or local public health or safety law in the operation of the Hotel.

The fee for administering Permit applications and appeals under this division shall be determined by a fee study.

The Board shall have the power to render interpretations of this division and to adopt, publish, and enforce rules and regulations to clarify the application of its provisions, which shall have the force of law. These interpretations, rules, and regulations shall be in conformity with the intent and purpose of this division.