Santa Monica Emergency Order: Short term rentals allowed, price gouging prohibited, assistance available for households displaced by Palisades Fire

Santa Monica Emergency Order: Short-term rentals allowed, price-gouging prohibited, assistance available for households displaced by Palisades Fire

January 17, 2025 2:49 PM
by City of Santa Monica

In response to the Palisades Fire, the Santa Monica City Council has adopted an Emergency Order to address local impacts, protect against future fire danger, and assist in regional recovery.

Here are key policies implemented through the Emergency Order:

Red Flag Warnings

The Emergency Order prohibits all outdoor burning during Red Flag Warnings. This includes, but is not limited to:

• The use of wood-burning fire pits or stoves.
• Bonfires, recreational fires and open burning of any kind.
• Outdoor grilling using charcoal or wood. (Gas or propane grills are permitted but must be used with extreme caution and away from flammable materials.)

Curfew

• The Emergency Order implements a curfew of 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. in all areas of the city under evacuation orders or warnings, in alignment with Los Angeles County Sheriff's curfew for all wildfire evacuation zones.

Prohibition on price gouging

• The Emergency Order activated state prohibitions on price gouging, which are in effect from Jan. 7 until 30 days after the emergency is declared over, or until a date specified by the governor or the city.
• This applies to all consumer goods and services, including rental housing.
• For occupied rental units, this means the rent for existing tenants cannot be raised more than 10 percent while the prohibition is activated.
• For housing that was offered for rent in the last year, rent cannot exceed 10 percent above the last advertised rental price before the emergency.
• For housing that was vacant and not previously offered for rent in the last year, rent cannot exceed 10 percent above 160 percent of the Fair Market Rent amounts established by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
• The Consumer Protection Unit of the City Attorney's Office encourages the public to report any suspected instances of price gouging to [email protected] or by submitting a complaint at smconsumer.org.
• Please see the FAQ on price gouging for more information.

Short-term rentals and leases of less than one year

Santa Monica has temporarily suspended enforcement of laws prohibiting short-term rentals and leases of less than one year when rented to households displaced by the regional fires to allow them to find temporary places to stay.

Briefly, the steps to list a new rental are:

• Fill out a short registration form.
• Apply for a Santa Monica business license if you don't already have one. *Please note, you don't have to receive the license prior to renting your property.
• List your unit for rent on one of the many available rental listing sites.

As noted above, State Law prohibits price gouging in hotel, motel and short-term rental rates, and in rental housing following an emergency proclamation.

Please see this page for more information if you're interested in listing a rental unit.

Preventing evictions

The Emergency Order bans all evictions based on the presence of unauthorized occupants or pets during the period of the emergency, if the occupant or pet has been displaced due to a regional fire evacuation order or warning or poor air quality conditions related to the regional fires.

School relocation

Displaced schools and childcare/early education facilities may operate within the city's non-residential zones without a Conditional Use or Temporary Use Permit. Please contact (310) 458 8906 or email [email protected].

Business relocation

Small businesses impacted by the regional fires may temporarily operate within the city without a Temporary Use Permit.

Permit parking

With some limitations, residents may obtain 30-day temporary preferential parking permits or Overnight Beach Residents & Guests permits if they have guests staying with them who were displaced by the fires. Read more here.

Read the full Emergency Order.

Authored By

City of Santa Monica

Categories

Business, Safety, Your City Hall