Another wave of regulations on short-term rentals like Airbnbs and Vrbos are coming to Orange County before the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off this summer and ahead of the 2028 Olympics.
Officials across Orange County – home to Disneyland and an idyllic Pacific Coastline – have long grappled with how best to regulate Airbnbs with local leaders banning short term rentals, others permitting them and some implementing moratoriums as they craft new laws.
In Placentia, city council members last month passed new regulations on the rentals including a cap on guests, requiring permits and creating a buffer zone between different rental properties.
At the same time, Brea officials cranked up fines for violations of their short term rental ordinance from $100 for the first infraction in a year to $1,500 after a new state law increased municipal fine thresholds on short term rentals.
Brea Mayor Cecilia Hupp said the increase will prevent people from breaking the rules and renting out illegally.
“This is putting teeth to that and saying, ‘If you do it, it’s going to cost you, so don’t do it,’ because $100 people walk away from that,” Hupp said at the April 21 city council meeting.
“Cities are doing this in order to put some teeth into the laws.”
Hupp and the rest of the city council are expected to finalize the increased fines at their 7 p.m. city council meeting Tuesday.
The changes come after the OC Grand Jury recommended last year cities update their short-term rental laws ahead of the World Cup and Olympics while also calling on cities to do a better job of collecting taxes on the rentals and enforcing local laws.
[Read: Another Wave of Airbnb Regulations May Soon Come to Orange County]
The new regulations are being adopted amid complaints that short term rentals attract rowdy, loud guests into neighborhoods that take up parking and fill up trash cans.
At the same time, Airbnb rentals can also provide supplemental income to homeowners – oftentimes retired seniors who say they depend on the additional revenue to survive.
Still cities have tried to ban them altogether.
Last month, an Orange County Superior Court Judge ruled that Santa Ana officials had to set aside its ordinance banning short-term rentals because it was approved in violation of the state’s environmental quality act.
Brea Increases Fines on Airbnb Violations
Earlier this year, Brea city officials introduced a short-term rental pilot program requiring homeowners to get a $1,000 permit, a city business license, pass a building inspection, mandate a two-night minimum stay and provide on-site parking to operate an Airbnb.
[Read: Brea Rolls Out Airbnb Program Ahead of 2028 Olympics]
Now, officials are kicking up the fines for short term rental violations following the passage of Senate Bill 60 that allows city officials to charge more for infractions of their Airbnb laws.
On April 21, Brea officials voted unanimously to hike short term rental fines as they have been quietly holding study sessions reviewing their existing general municipal tax this year – meetings that are not being broadcast to the public.
Jason Killebrew, Community Development director, said the citations are their last resort when it comes to enforcing the law.
“The goal of our enforcement is always going to be compliance,” he said at the April 21 city council meeting
“The idea is ensuring that we’re modernized to a point to the maximum of what the state allows as well as understanding that this council approved a short term pilot program and so just making sure that we have the appropriate tools for enforcement for that program.”
Under the new changes, the fine for the first violation of the Airbnb ordinance in a year will shoot up from $100 to $1,500.
The second violation will go from $200 to $3,000 and three or more violations will go from $500 to $5,000.
Councilman Steven Vargas said the increase for the short term rentals fine is going overboard.
“You’re jumping the shark on this,” he said. “There’s also something we’re working on as far as a potential increase in our building license fees which significantly increases the costs for even doing the short term rentals.”
Councilwoman Christine Marick said the increase is not about generating revenue, but ensuring compliance with their pilot program.
“If you operate under the laws as we have set them, you won’t be paying these fines.”
Placentia Rolls Out New Short Term Rental Law
Placentia’s new rules come after new short term rentals were temporarily banned for up to a year last September so that the city could establish better guidelines for the rentals to operate in the city, though short-term rentals have been allowed in Placentia since 2019.
[Read: Placentia Temporarily Bans New Airbnbs For up to One Year]
The Transient Occupancy Tax charged to properties is expected to bring in $235,000 in revenue annually, while the city is expected to come up over $3 million short in this year’s budget.
Officials will allow 85 short term rental permits in the city, with 72 already in place, according to an agenda report and Director of Development Services Joe Lambert at the meeting. “Partial-units” like single bedrooms, rooms or portions of houses will not be included in this total.
The city will also ban rentals within 300 feet of each other, and allow a maximum 10 guests per short-term rental regardless of the number of bedrooms, with a two-night minimum.
“Minimum stay of two consecutive nights to try and cut down on the party-house type thing, which we don’t really have,” Lambert said at the meeting
Those looking to rent out their property will need to provide a floor plan including sleeping areas, evacuation routes, fire extinguisher locations. Building and fire inspections must also be provided initially and annually.
For any issues that may arise, a 24-hour contact must be provided, who can “shall within
one (1) hour to satisfactorily correct any alleged nuisance or violation,” according to the updated ordinance.
No warnings will be issued – the first violation will cost $250, and if a local contact is not available to respond to police or fire departments, a fine will be automatically issued.
A second violation within 12 months will result in a $500 fine for each violation, and the owner’s business license and short-term rental permits being permanently revoked.
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org.