Local ordinances and codes

[Greg2757]

I'm taking steps to prepare my primary residence for rent. It is a 1921 Craftsman in a desirable Los Angeles neighborhood. My AirBnB mentor advised me to apply for a home sharing permit so I can legally rent it out to short term tenants. I had other questions about compliance with local building codes, which they did not answer.

Prior owners converted the  basement into a 300 sq ft private studio apartment. City records show that building permits were pulled to do the work, but no inspections were completed, which suggests something is not code-compliant. I suspect it is that although the unit has multiple functioning windows that open and shut, none them are code-compliant as egress windows.

I spoke to an engineer at the dept of housing, who went to great lengths not to make any definitive statements to me over the phone, but implied that 1)  non-compliant issues are grandfathered in if they were done before the ordinance was drafted into code, and 2) I can explicitly put a "tenants agree to rent the house as-is clause" in my lease. I am fairly certain the basement renovation was completed after the egress window ordinance, so that leaves me with option 2. 

Bottom line is I have a habitable yet un-permitted studio apartment that would make a great short term rental.  Does AirBnB have any policy about this sort of thing one way or another? Who enforces it? 

[Lorna170]

@Greg2757   AirBnB "compliance" aside, without egress windows you probably cannot insure the property for rental.  

[Greg2757]

Okay @Lorna170 . Would that be the only obstacle? When I wasn’t able to get an answer from AirBnB previously, I pursued preparing for long term rental instead.

I was able to secure a landlord's policy with an insurer for the whole house. I opted to switch to that insurer for homeowner’s insurance right away, but I explained the whole situation and they prepared a policy for landlord’s insurance that I can initiate if and when I decide to rent. So, as far as I know, the property can be insured for rental.

[Wendy-May0]

That's great that you secured a landlord's policy, that covers a huge portion of the financial risk.

However, the egress window issue remains your primary obstacle because insurance doesn't override building code.

Insurance only covers financial loss, it does not certify safety. If a fire occurred and the non-compliant exit prevented a guest from escaping the basement unit, the insurance company could potentially deny the claim based on the code violation. More importantly, you would still face significant personal liability for negligence, since you were aware of the defect.

I strongly advise sticking to renting the fully permitted main house only until the basement egress is signed off by the city. The risk of a life-safety incident is far too high to justify the small profit from that unit.

[Wendy-May0]

That's a classic LA permitting headache! It's smart you're tackling the compliance head-on.

1. Airbnb Policy (The Public Risk): Airbnb's Terms of Service state that hosts must comply with all local laws and permits. They rely on the host to certify this; they don't send inspectors. The risk is usually that a bad guest (or a neighbour) reports you.

2. The Clause (The Real Risk): You should absolutely not rely on an 'as-is' clause in a short-term rental agreement to cover non-compliant egress windows. This is a life-safety issue. If a fire were to happen and a guest couldn't escape due to a non-compliant exit, that liability would almost certainly extend to you personally, despite any clause you wrote.

Strategic Action: I would advise against renting the basement studio short-term until the egress issue is properly permitted and certified. Stick to renting the main house legally via your home-sharing permit. The risk of one major safety incident far outweighs the profit from that 300 sq ft unit.

[Greg2757]

Thank you! I just did a web search to verify the egress window specs and found this - https://permitla.org/building/replace_window(s)_detail.html  (emphasis mine):

Every sleeping room shall have at least one operable window OR AN EXTERIOR DOOR approved for emergency escape.

Elaborating on the OP, the space is 307 sq ft, with an entrance door, and two operable windows. Aside from a 4x6' BA with its own window, the rest of the unit is a unified space configured as a studio apt with a kitchenette along one wall. There is no separate bedroom. In other words, since this is a studio apt, the sleeping room has an exterior door. 

I don't know why I didn't notice this before, but it appears that with an approved exterior door, and egress window is not required.