I received a Cease and Desist for operating a short term rental from the city of Santa Ana

[Jordan819]

Why me? I went live on airbnb in a city with no outright ban on short term rentals. In fact, short term rentals arent even mentioned in the citys code. They are claiming that because it isnt explicitly a permitted use of the house (no HOA) that it makes it unpermitted/illegal. For what it is worth, 1000's of airbnbs have been operating longer than me (3 months) in the same city. 

I bought this house specifically to airbnb. I have no idea what enforcement rights they may or may not have against me. 

If you are looking to provide context, I am only interested in the context of what other hosts may have experienced specifically in Santa Ana. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Jordan819 I also received a speeding ticket whilst surrounded by others who were speeding. Either it is legal to STR your place or it isn't. The fact that there are 1000's of Airbnbs operating is irrelevant especially as they may have been grandfathered in. Your best bet is to talk with the city and find out the facts from it.

[AZ-Housing0]

This is irrelevant Mike, when speeding you put others in danger. When renting your home you don't.

[Ana2038 · Accepted solution]

@Jordan819 , the City of Santa Ana changed their municipal code to a permissive code. If it’s not stated as a permitted use then it’s prohibited. Quite a few cities in California have such a code on their books, however, many STRs still operate. The city has been trying since last year to shut down STRs. Last year in September, we went to the planning commission department meeting (around 60+ homeowners/investors) and voiced our opposition. The planning commission backed down and sat down with a group of us to discuss working together to put a program with rules and regulations in place. The executive director of the planning commission was present at the meeting and stated they would hold off on doing anything until after the new year. Well, about 3 weeks ago some of us in the group received letters from code enforcement.  

The head of our group received an email from the executive director stating that the planning commission felt the cons far outweighed the pros in allowing STRs to operate in the city and therefore would be moving forward on prohibiting STRs in the city. A lot has changed (new mayor, council members and ward representatives). There are a number of us that are discussing our next move and how to approach the city council members etc… 

You may want to consider getting involved in our group efforts to fight the planning commission decision and appeal to the city council. You should also be aware of the pending SB584 bill being proposed in Sacramento that would impose a 15% tax on STR in the State of California. Here is the email of the point person of our group (**). Sheri also received a letter as well as others in our group.  

**[E-mail address removed due to safety reasons - Community Center Guidelines]

[Jordan819]

Ana, your reply to me is extremely helpful and provides a lot of context. I will be reaching out to be added on further communication. Thank you!

[David10300]

Hi @Jordan819 , I received the same letter.  And the code enforcement officer came by today and said he was going to issue a $100 fine.  Not worried about the $100.  But it needs to be addressed.   From a legal perspective, I must politely disagree with @Ana2038 on the code.  That same code mentioned does not list Renting your home as an acceptable business use.  And that is because it is understood that renting your home is acceptable.  The City of Santa Ana will issue you a license to rent your home.  However, there is nothing on the Santa Ana codes that restrict how long you must rent your home.   The 30 days is arbitrary.  The City of Santa Ana codes do have a description of what a hotel is, and our homes do not meet such description.  (If you'd like further evidence on that, do a search on Keen v. City of Manhattan Beach, 77 Cal.App.5th 142)  The point is, an attorney may be needed to fight this and I am willing to go in on one and fight it together.  We need as many hosts as possible to go in together so as to defray the cost of fighting it.  Let me know if you want to chat further.  You can send me a message here or at **    BTW, I use ** as the provider.  I think you can figure it our but we'll see if the AI here is bright enough to catch that. 

[Jenny]

Hi @David10300 

Happy to say there's some real live Community Managers here! (or is that something an AI would say... 😀)

I'm sorry, but I've removed the reference to your email address as it's against Community Center guidelines, specifically:

• Content that relates to an individual's personal information e.g. personal information such as email addresses, phone numbers, credit card details etc.
  

That being said I do totally appreciate you're here to help with something location-specific, which could help others in the same position, so I'd encourage you to connect with people using our Direct Messaging (DM) feature rather than posting your email on a public forum.

For anyone reading that wants to send a DM, click on the person's user name to head to their profile, and look for a black button with white writing that says "send message".  It's on the right of the screen under the profile photo.

Thanks for your understanding!

Jenny

[David10300]

Got it.  I was really unaware of such a feature.  It's not to easy to find.  I sent a DM that way. We'll see if they see it. 

[LaDonna20]

David is there an STR group in Santa Ana?  We are interested in rounding up a group and securing an attorney before the 2nd reading.  We have access to the attorney that helped get us grandfathered in another couple nearby cities.

Please reach out. 

LaDonna Franke

at

gmail

[Jason1838]

Hi David, I’m a smaller operator in Santa Ana. Do you have any updates or new developments on this matter? I couldn’t find any info online and have not been able to get connected to a city office member who has been helpful. One person told me to check municipal code on the website. I skimmed through it and did not find anything (as you mentioned). 

[Patricia4509]

David, Can you reach out to me?  I can't find a way to DM you.  I need your expertise.  Thanks.

[AZ-Housing0]

It just amazes me, how corrupt and careless local governments in California cities are (not all, but most). Santa Ana has many issues that are much more important and dangerous for city residents that need immediate attention beside STRs. But of course, no one cares about gangs, drugs, homelessness and crime in the city. Instead they go after people who try to make an honest living....This is ridiculous. Of course we have to fight back. BUT fight smart....do youtube videos on these things, do them in the language that the majority of voting residents speak. Expose the city council members....Every-time I deal with authorities in California I feel like their main goal is to drive people to live in Florida...No taxes, no crazy regulations, great weather and houses that are 3 times cheaper...Why would someone even stay here? Same happened in Orange, openly bribed city council member Mike pushed legislation to ban STR...Guess who his campaign donors are. Luckily, he was kicked out of city council because he maxed out his terms and couldn't be sitting in council on 3rd term...but who cares even though he was elected illegally they passed the law. If there is a group of landlords interested in pushing legislation I believe this gentleman could help us lets unite and fight back. **[Link removed in line with the Community Center Guidelines]

[Gokhan20]

well STRs are contributing to housing affordability crisis so it makes sense for elected officials to cater to constituents. They'd rather make more people happy by upsetting a few STR owners who can't seem to satisfy their need for more money.

[Helen744]

@Gokhan20 There are a lot of asumptions in your statement but I think you will find Ghokhan that even with the current severe NY restrictions being applied that long term rental costs are also increasing due to the economic climate at a rate wherein they are rivalling in some cases STR homes .   H

[Hannah1254]

Hi Ana, thanks so much for all the helpful info in your post. My husband and I are just getting into Airbnb in Santa Ana. I'd love to get updates and be part of your group to learn a thing or two. We bought our house during 2020 and have been doing a lot of construction, including building an entire ADU. We are getting nervous now with all the changes lately and uncertainty around STRs. I think it would help to be in the know! Thanks in advanced!