clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Grumpy old City Council is cracking down on house parties

New, 15 comments

It's looking to institute an escalating fine system for noise violations

The Los Angeles City Council is sick and tired of having to wake up and call the cops in the middle of the night or passive-aggressively bang the ceiling with a broomstick. It's taking action to cut down on raucous house parties by punishing landlords who allow them to happen.

As The Real Deal reports, the council unanimously passed a motion today asking the city attorney’s office to draft an ordinance that would hit both tenants and homeowners with escalating fines for repeated noise violations. The "Party House" regulations would also create prohibition periods after initial violations, during which notices of violation would have to be posted on the front door of homes as sort of a public mark of shame.

The motion, authored by Councilman David Ryu, is meant to prevent enterprising party enthusiasts from renting homes just to host massive gatherings. It’s a common practice in the Hollywood Hills, an area Ryu reps.

Short-term rental sites such as Airbnb have only made it easier for hosts to find potential locations for good-old-fashioned ragers. Last year, Ryu went so far as to propose making it a misdemeanor to host parties in short-term rentals. So far, the council hasn’t chosen to take steps that drastic, but the proposed new regulations do bar homeowners from renting houses to short-term tenants while that notice of violation is hanging from the front door.

The council’s measure is based on a Newport Beach ordinance adopted in 2011. Called the Loud and Unruly Gathering Ordinance, it was authored to crack down on truly out-of-control social gatherings. "This is for the large parties," Deputy City Attorney Kyle Rowan told reporters at the time. "Some of you may remember the Dennis Rodman days."

Residents of the Hollywood Hills may not have Rodman to contend with these days, but they do have the Yottas, a German couple that has taken it upon themselves to show the city "what it means to make party." Then, of course, there was the March graduation party in the Hollywood Dell that led to a reported $86,379 in damage to one of the neighborhood’s most notorious party houses.

Of course, escalating fines probably won’t scare off some of the more well-heeled Hollywood Hills high rollers, but it might be enough to make the high school seniors pooling their money together for one last hurrah before college-types think twice before confirming those Airbnb reservations.