Unincorporated LA County Registration Fee

[Emily1452]

We received a letter stating we need to register our rental property but I cannot find a clear definition anywhere of whether or not short term rentals are included in this. We live on the property and rent the adu in the back through Airbnb. It is not rented full time. At most it's rented a couple days every month. If anyone could please clarify what we are considered and if we need to pay the registration fee that would be greatly appreciated.

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Emily1452 

We are also in California and in an unincorporated area. Our county has a bunch of requirements and an ordinance that governs our short term home share business. If you received a letter, they are aware of your business, and expect you to come into compliance. Most counties and cities are using a tracking software that easily finds all of us. The best information would be to pay a visit to the county planning and zoning office. They will provide an outline of what you need to do to to become legal. 

If you were in my county, you would be considered a short term rental, and definitely be required to register, comply with their requirements, collect and remit TOT, and agree to comply with the local ordinance governing STR.  Some of the items on the list include agency inspections around fire prevention, emergency access/egress plus other public safety issues, parking, noise,  impacts on neighbors, number of guests, infrastructure and business insurance coverage. 

Let us know what happens!

[Ty102 · Accepted solution]

There is a how to video on the LA County rent registry site.  During the YT video they specifically mention one of the pages that you can use to file for exemptions and exactly what qualifies as an exemption.  One of the boxes he said to check is for people who do AirBnB and that box says you do "transient" rentals or rentals of less than 30 days per month.  Here is the link to the YT video.  It is towards the end however I encourage you to watch the entire thing as it also shows you how to get the exemption for the unit you live in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxp12KzJJ6M&t=1410s

[Emily1452]

@Ty102 Thank you so much for this! I was able to find where we file for an exemption. I didn't think the registration applied to us so I'm glad to finally have this sorted.