The Anaheim City Council voted yesterday to outlaw all short-term rentals, the type made popular through such websites as Airbnb and Vrbo, CBS2 reports.
The rules are super strict. They're tougher than Santa Monica's stringent regulations, as they even ban home-sharing, meaning renting out a room instead of an entire home or apartment. However, that's just temporary, as the Anaheim City Council will address it as a separate issue in an upcoming meeting.
Though Anaheim has a lot of event destinations that are not Disney related (Angel Stadium, the Anaheim Convention Center, the Honda Center), Disneyland-adjacent short-term rentals and complaints about them were a big part of the opposition to the rentals. Locals spoke out against the "explosion" of rentals near the theme park, which they say has caused issues ranging from a squeeze on parking to noise.
Of the 200 people who showed up to the over-five-hour meeting, several did speak out in favor of the rentals, saying they’ve nudged some property owners to spruce up their buildings and homes. "My husband and I love seeing the families that walk to Disney so excited about their vacations," one woman said.
Still, others referred to short-term rentals as a "cancer" and as a quality-of-life destroyer that needs to be stopped.
According to the Orange County Register, there are 363 permitted short-term rentals in Anaheim. The city implemented a permitting plan for the rentals in 2014, and required rentals to register for a permit and charge guests a the same 15-percent tax a hotel guest would. With the passage of the ban, those rentals have 18 months to cease operation. For everyone else, CBS2 said the ban is expected to take effect in mid-August.
Airbnb is suing San Francisco over its short-term rental regulations, so it wouldn't be a total shocker if it takes Anaheim to court. Meanwhile, Los Angeles is still figuring out how to wrangle these popular rentals.
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