We just published an update to an investigation from earlier this year, in which we revealed a loophole in San Diego law that allows property owners to obtain a short-term rental license even after carrying out an illegal eviction.
It works like this: Investors buy up multi-family properties, clear out long-term tenants with no-fault evictions and then obtain a short-term rental license for each unit soon after — in violation of the terms under the evictions.
Months have passed and the loophole remains open. However, officials are expected to discuss potential amendments to the city’s landmark short-term rental ordinance Oct. 21.
San Diego City Councilmember Jennifer Campbell and her staff have pledged to fix the loophole but have ignored questions about their plans to do so. I ask because narrowing the loophole is different than closing it altogether.
Here are the two key, unanswered questions I’ve asked Campbell’s office:
- Will the city prevent property owners who carry out a no-fault eviction from ever obtaining a short-term rental license, or would they just have to wait out the required time period? For example, in the case of family move-in, would they have to wait 12 consecutive months after the family member moves in, and then give the previous tenant the option to move back, prior to granting a license?
- How can the city enforce this without tracking evictions? Is there some enforcement plan to ensure people who carry out a no-fault eviction aren’t allowed to obtain a short-term rental license soon after?
Eviction records are protected by state law, and the only information publicly available is the number of court filings. An effort to track evictions at the city level stalled not long after it began in 2023.
For more information about this loophole and what happened, check out the latest story.