Officials in two Orange County cities are considering adjusting their regulations on short-term rentals as cities try to rein in unpermitted short-term rentals and prevent party houses in the region.
And more cities could soon follow.
The OC Grand Jury released a report late last month recommending officials across the county review and update their short-term rental ordinances and develop a plan for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympics which is expected to create a surge in demand for the rentals, commonly known as Airbnbs.
Grand Jurors also found cities rely on the honor system for short-term rental owners to report and pay their bed tax and are recommending cities change how they collect those taxes so they’re getting the correct amount.
To read the full Grand Jury Report, Click here.
In recent years officials across the county have been strengthening regulations and beginning to permit and limit how many short term rentals they allow in their city amid complaints that they attract rowdy, loud guests into neighborhoods that take up parking and fill up trash cans.
At the same time, short term rentals booked through platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo can also provide supplemental income to homeowners – oftentimes retired seniors who say they depend on the additional revenue to survive.
Seal Beach City Councilman Joe Kalmick said the issue really boils down to separating the good operators who follow the rules and the bad operators who don’t, adding that people should call the police on noisy guests to help the city enforce the rules.
“If the police respond, then we’re also having somebody in authority telling them to keep it down, and we’re also establishing a record,” he said at the May 27 city council meeting.
“Sometimes it’s the luck of the draw, and sometimes it means taking the step of calling the one enforcement entity that we have that is at our service.”
Seal Beach City Councilman Nathan Steele, who runs a short-term rental in Long Beach, said the rentals make “good neighbors” and Airbnb is cracking down on party houses.
“We in our business – we don’t want parties. We don’t want our neighbors to be angry at us, but we want to open our home to people who come in and visit us,” he said at the May 27 city council meeting.
“The house next door to me is a long term rental, and it’s run down. The lawn is dead. The bushes are dying. The eaves are unpainted. It looks like garbage. My house looks pristine and perfect, because I want a five star review.”
In Seal Beach, a majority of city council members asked staff to come back with research on what other cities have done to ban people from hosting and advertising an Airbnb near schools after concerns from residents that the rentals could attract pedophiles.
At the same time, officials in Fullerton – a city with nearly 200 unpermitted Airbnbs – are putting a temporary moratorium on short-term rentals for 45 days to review the impacts of these vacation rentals and to review their short-term rental ordinance.
Meanwhile in Dana Point, city officials are allowing staff to greenlight certain short-term rental permits and voted last month to contract with a third-party to help them identify unpermitted operators.
[Read: Dana Point Streamlines Short-Term Rental Approvals, Cracks Down on Unpermitted Ones]
The Orange County Grand Jury found 19 cities in the county have banned short-term rentals: including Santa Ana, Stanton, Garden Grove, Irvine, Fountain Valley, Westminster, Costa Mesa, Tustin, Yorba Linda, Brea, Cypress, Aliso Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita.
There are 15 cities that allow short-term rentals: including Anaheim, Newport Beach, Buena Park, Lake Forest, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, Mission Viejo, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, and Orange.
How Effective Are Airbnbs Ordinances?
The OC Grand Jury’s deep dive into the impacts of Airbnbs and the effectiveness of current regulations found that there are several issues with enforcing short-term rental regulations and resolving complaints.
According to the report, complaints are not responded to in a timely manner, warnings and citations can take up to a week to be issued and code enforcement officers often show leniency.
“This, along with laxity in enforcement, may explain why fewer than ten percent of STRs record a complaint in a given year, a number that fails to reflect the frustration of STR neighbors,” reads the OC Grand Jury report.
The report also found that while housing advocates argue Airbnbs reduce affordable housing stock, short-term rentals have negligible effect on affordable homes in cities that allow these types of vacation rentals.
The Grand Jury argues best practices to ensure Airbnb owners are being good neighbors is to have a user-friendly complaint system, diligent code enforcement, requiring permit numbers on all advertising and an in-person contact.
Seal Beach Considers Banning Short-term Rentals Near Schools
Seal Beach residents like Riley Forsythe are raising concerns that while the city’s ordinance addresses nuisance houses, it doesn’t prevent an Airbnb from operating near a school, pointing to one local short-term rental property by an elementary school.
“This particular STR operator has made it a part of her Airbnb profile to name the elementary school directly across the street as an amenity, giving access to the school yard playgrounds for the quote, littles, unquote, to enjoy,” Forsythe said at the May 27 city council meeting.
“She also lists all of our other elements that make up McGaugh (Elementary), and says that all of the locals refer to it as our country club. I’ve lived here for nearly 50 years, and I’ve never heard it called that. All a predator has to do is look for an STR with the search word ‘school’ and her ad will pop up.”
Following the comment, Seal Beach City Council members voted 3-1-1 to direct staff to look at what cities have established a buffer zone between Airbnbs and schools and bring it back to the council for a discussion.
“My concern is the proximity to the school, not trying to go after the tenant or the owner, or any of that other stuff. But this is an issue about safety of children, and one child hurt is too many,” said City Councilwoman Patty Senecal at the May 27 council meeting.
“That’s what I’m concerned about as a parent,” she said. “It’s a rough world out there.”
Mayor Lisa Landau recused herself from the discussion and vote because she said she was eligible to receive a short-term rental permit.
Steele, who owns a short rental in Long Beach, was the lone dissenting vote – arguing that they should ban people from advertising their Airbnb as being near a school and that people don’t know the address of the vacation homes until they rent it.
“We need to get them to change that description. That description just is totally unacceptable. We can explore the possibility of limiting STRs (short-term rentals) around a school, but nobody would know if they’re properly advertised on Airbnb,” Steele said at the May 27 council meeting.
“I care about our children as much as the next human being, maybe even more but believe me I just don’t – I’m not with you on this one. We’ll see what comes back in the process here.”
Forsythe indirectly said Steele being a short-term rental operator was a conflict of interest.
“Is this city so desperate for money that it is willing to put the lives of our children at risk by exposing them to people that want to be next to small children?” he said.
“You’ve clearly crossed the line, if you think this is okay, and there is a clear conflict of interest, if this decision to let these exist in our neighborhood enhances the financial benefit of one of you.”
Fullerton’s Airbnb Moratorium
Fullerton’s short term rental ban could ease the strain on city staff, who have faced ongoing challenges tied to rentals, including neighbors’ complaints, applicant reviews and increased efforts to crack down on violators.
Mayor Fred Jung said it was important for the city to act fast.
“This is a scenario that requires action on our part at the very least to reexamine where our vulnerabilities are as a city and ramp up to be able to maintain our quality of life here in the city,” he said at the May 20 city council meeting.
City council members voted unanimously on May 20 to establish the urgency ordinance to temporarily ban short term rentals and direct staff to look into a permanent ban for those who operate without a permit.
Those who currently operate Airbnbs with permits will not be affected by the moratorium.
Councilman Nicholas Dunlap argued that while an Airbnb moratorium is necessary, the city needs to focus on finding a more permanent solution to deter problematic rentals.
“The rules have been so widely advertised not just by our city but also by Vrbo and Airbnb,” Dunlap said.
There are currently 180 rentals operating without permits, according to a staff report.
Dunlap suggested that staff should look at reining in the program altogether.
“These folks know what they are doing and they are intentionally choosing to operate against the law,” he said.
The city has generated $1,054,000.00 in transient occupancy tax, also known as a bed tax, since the program first began in 2020, according to the staff report.
Resident Todd Harrison said that he supports a temporary ban to improve oversight, but stressed it shouldn’t block residents from applying to rent properties before the 2028 Olympics.
“I don’t have a short term rental, but I would like one with the Olympics on the medium or distant horizon,” he said at the May 20 meeting.
Harrison said he supported the moratorium because it could help curb illegal operators who often make it harder for those who are following the law.
“I don’t like people who flat out ignore the rules,” he said. “It gives the people who do it right all the more trouble.”
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.
Isabel Torres is a Voice of OC intern. You can contact her at isabtorres@chapman.edu.