L.A. needs the tools to catch short-term-rental tax evaders

THE GOLDEN STATE'S global allure will be on full display as we host parts of the 2026 World Cup, back-to-back Super Bowls and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

- NITHYA RAMAN GUEST CONTRIBUTOR

These events will be an economic boon for the L.A. region, resulting in millions of dollars from “bed tax” revenue that hotels, motels and home-sharing services collect from tourists and pay cities and counties. During the Paris Olympics, the number of home-share rental listings increased 40% in the days leading up to the opening ceremony.

These sporting events can be a great opportunity for residents to make extra money by renting out their home or a spare room. But, at the same time, the city is already fighting a large swath of bad actors renting out party houses, scooping up rent-controlled apartments and evading paying local license fees and taxes. And short-term rental companies are refusing to share the information we need to crack down on these illegal rentals.

Estimates show that in Los Angeles County, nearly 72% of Airbnb listings — about 32,500 properties — are operating illegally. But without property data from the short-term rental companies, city officials have no systematic way of knowing that these rentals even exist. Our hands are tied in enforcing our own rules or cracking down on illegally operating rentals, leaving millions of tax dollars uncollected.