July 16, 2025 Your Source for Brentwood News

Column: Regulating Medium-Term Rentals

By Avi Sinai

Last month Santa Monica City Council announced that it is considering stricter regulations against ‘medium-term rentals.’ This is just one decision in a long list of problematic solutions that don’t address the root of the city’s severe housing shortage.

What are Medium-Term Rentals?

Medium-term rentals (also known as ‘corporate housing’) are residential term leases that are longer than 30 days but shorter than 1 year. These lease structures become increasingly popular due to the popularity of platforms like Airbnb and millennials’ desire to stay flexible. So if landlords are happy with the higher rents, and renters are happy to pay for flexibility, why is Santa Monica city council taking action? City officials and renter rights advocates argue that corporate housing is taking the place of long term housing units in a city that is already in a deep shortage of affordable housing.

Why did Landlords Turn to Medium and Short Term Rentals?

Citing profits and landlord greed are the easy and obvious reasons, but they don’t paint the whole picture. Landlords make more per month with medium-term rentals, but vacancy gaps, transaction costs, cleaning and extra management fees (not to mention thousands of dollars in furniture cost) can eat up any extra profit quickly.

Apartment building owners, like all real estate investors, would prefer long term tenants if everything else is equal. It requires less management and more predictability of income. In addition, most traditional banks refuse to recognize short and medium term income from home sharing sites. This prompted owners to resort to private hard money lenders for a creative capital solution.

A more complicated reason to avoid long term tenancy is the fear of rent control expansion. A recent state-wide push to expand rent control laws (Proposition 10) was defeated, but property owners are taking note of rising populism and backlash over rising rents. Cities continue to explore ways to expand regulations over the housing market – and landlords shying away from long term tenancies is a proactive step to combat the next regulatory wave.

Alternative Solution to the City’s Housing Shortage

The best way to lower housing costs for renters is to expand the housing supply dramatically, and specifically incentivize developers to provide affordable units to middle-class renters – not just luxury units and low-income units. Tenants should have protections against price gouging and housing stability for young families and seniors should be a priority for any city council – especially in a city where median housing prices are in the top 5 percent of the nation. But 40 years of rent control has done little to stop rents from rising. It only protected those who chose not to move away from their apartment. Stopping medium terms rentals, even if successful – is a band-aid solution where surgery is the right course.

About the author: Avi Sinai is the principal of HM Capital, a Los Angeles company specializes in hard money real estate loan and private lending. To contact HM Capital you can call (530) 436-5630, or email all inquiries to avi@hardmoola.com

Related Posts

What to Expect at This Weekend’s “Conquer The Pier 5K and 1 Mile Race/Walk” in Venice

July 16, 2025

July 16, 2025

Proceeds will fund community programs, youth sports, and park enhancements The Conquer The Pier 5K and 1 Mile Race/Walk will...

LA Sees Second Straight Year of Homelessness Decline, Leaders Celebrate Progress

July 15, 2025

July 15, 2025

The survey, designed by the University of Southern California, reported a 17.5% drop—the largest two-year decrease on record The Los...

Hundreds of Red-Legged Frog Tadpoles Released in Santa Monica Mountains

July 15, 2025

July 15, 2025

Once widespread in California, red-legged frogs vanished from the Santa Monica Mountains by the 1970s Nearly 600 California red-legged frog...

Federal Judge Sides with Santa Monica, Other Local Governments Against Immigration Raids

July 15, 2025

July 15, 2025

Santa Monica Mayor Lana Negrete praised the ruling, saying it reaffirmed the city’s commitment to protecting residents from unjust detention...

California Hits Two-Thirds Clean Energy Milestone

July 14, 2025

July 14, 2025

This year, clean energy has powered the state for an average of seven hours daily, with over 90% of days...

Beverly Hills Plans Major Apartment Development Near Civic Center

July 14, 2025

July 14, 2025

The site, currently holding 13 residential units, is slated for demolition to make way for the new development A proposal...

UCLA Student Researchers Face Funding Uncertainty, Student Newspaper Reports

July 14, 2025

July 14, 2025

The Trump administration’s plan to slash $4.7 billion from the National Science Foundation, eliminate the National Endowment for the Humanities...

Santa Monica Assault Suspect Faces Multiple Charges, Authorities Seek Additional Victims

July 14, 2025

July 14, 2025

Marbra allegedly assaulted a 52-year-old woman on the Strand in Santa Monica, facing a felony count of assault with intent...

Elvis’ TV Legacy in Beverly Hills to be Explored in Upcoming Event

July 14, 2025

July 14, 2025

The session will feature rare clips from the Paley Archive, including Presley’s debut TV appearance, his 1968 Comeback Special, performances...

Veterans Tech Group to Launch Los Angeles Chapter with Networking Event

July 13, 2025

July 13, 2025

Founded in San Francisco, VetsInTech operates 20 chapters nationwide and claims more than 60,000 veterans VetsInTech, a national nonprofit that...

Home of Douglas Emmett Realty Co-Founder Becomes Brentwood’s Priciest on Market: REPORT

July 13, 2025

July 13, 2025

The new listing surpasses Brentwood’s previous top-priced property at 11740 Crescenda Street, which is listed at $54.9 million A Brentwood...

Chinese Bakery Hi Bake to Open First U.S. Store in Beverly Hills: REPORT

July 12, 2025

July 12, 2025

Hi Bake will offer a fusion of French and Asian pastries, including croissants filled with molten chocolate or wagyu beef...

County Supervisors Move to Preserve Measure J Amid Charter Error

July 12, 2025

July 12, 2025

Measure J mandates that at least 10% of the county’s locally generated, unrestricted funds be allocated to community investments like...

Sen. Ben Allen Highlights Challenges, Economic Gains for LA28 Olympics

July 12, 2025

July 12, 2025

The remarks came during the first informational hearing of the Senate’s Special Committee on International Sporting Events State Sen. Ben...

Downtown Santa Monica CEO Andrew Thomas to Step Down

July 12, 2025

July 12, 2025

Thomas, who rejoined DTSM, Inc. in 2022, oversaw the introduction of a private security program, expanded homeless outreach, and boosted...