🎯 STRisker: Bulletin - Los Angeles, CA
10 Apartments Returned to Market After LA Cracks Down on Illegal STRs
L.A. Strikes Back: Rent-Stabilized Units Reclaimed from Illegal STRs
Los Angeles just scored a big win in the fight to protect affordable housing from the short-term rental surge. City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto announced this week that at least 10 rent-stabilized apartments at the Franklin Apartments are back on the long-term rental market after property owners allegedly converted them into illegal short-term rentals.
According to the City Attorney’s Office, MC Pico Properties LLC and Monem Corp. (owner and manager of the building) allegedly turned a third of the Franklin Apartments into a mini hotel. Since late 2020, these 10 rent-stabilized units racked up more than 3,000 nights of short-term bookings — all while avoiding the required city registrations. Neighbors complained about noise, constant guest turnover, and party-like activity, fueling frustration over the erosion of neighborhood stability.
L.A.’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) prohibits using rent-stabilized housing as short-term rentals, and Feldstein Soto made clear that the city is done looking the other way. As part of the settlement, MC Pico and Monem are banned from violating the city’s Home-Sharing Ordinance at Franklin Apartments or any other properties they manage or own. They’ll also pay $150,000 in civil penalties.
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This latest action comes on the heels of other settlements with companies accused of fueling L.A.’s “party house” problem. Just last month, Feldstein Soto announced settlements with Ultimate Host LLC — operating as The Nightfall Group — and several of its associated companies. The group had allegedly leased high-end homes as long-term rentals only to sublease them as unpermitted STRs, turning residential properties into event venues. Combined penalties from those cases totaled nearly $300,000.
Feldstein Soto says these actions send a “clear message” to property owners and managers: rent-stabilized housing is for Angelenos, not for tourists. By reclaiming these units, the city aims to chip away at the housing shortage while reducing nuisance activity tied to party houses and unregulated short-term rentals.
For renters and community advocates, the win is more than symbolic. Every recovered unit counts in a city where affordable housing is scarce. And for property owners tempted to skirt the law, the message is simple: break the rules and you’ll pay for it — literally.
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