Man Suing Hermosa Beach After City Passes Ban On Short-Term Rentals
HERMOSA BEACH (CBSLA.com) — Neighbors in Hermosa Beach describe their reality: a revolving door of short-term vacation renters.
The people who live on The Strand say, overflowing trash cans and strangers in their common spaces, have become a way of life.
"You can make a lot of money doing it but you're selling out your neighbors in the process," said one resident, while another said: "This community is sort of tight. You lose that element and it becomes a little bit of a hassle to live around here."
Hermosa Beach recently passed a ban on short-term rentals from sites like Airbnb and VRBO, joining other cities like Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Anaheim, to name just a few.
But some property owners say the bans are unfair and destructive.
Jim Holtz is one of those owners.
"I'm on disability," he said. "I'm on full disability and I'm unable to work. My wife is limited able to work. And it is our primary source of income."
Holtz says he was making between $2,000 and $4,000 a week renting out his unit.
Now, he says, his income is in free-fall.
"Many of the arguments is that it invites spring break behavior," he said. "Well, my place, you have a maximum of six adults in a two-bedroom place at any time. There is noise restrictions. There's party restrictions, drug restrictions. And it's in the lease that if you break any of this, you lose your security deposit."
Holtz is suing Hermosa Beach over the ban, claiming they didn't get the green light from the Coastal Commission.
"The problem really isn't short-term renters," he says "it's the people. You know, those same people that own places, own or occupy places. Long-term renters can have the same party atmosphere or the same disregard."
The Daily Breeze reports that the Coastal Commission says Hermosa Beach still needs to apply for one permit to make the ban effective. The city is reportedly applying for that permit.