Los Angeles addresses evictions used to make room for Airbnb rentals

Courthouse News has this report:

Citing a growing housing crisis in Los Angeles, the city attorney has begun targeting landlords who illegally convert their rent-controlled apartment buildings to short-term tourist rentals or hotels.

"In a city with a profound shortage of affordable housing, unlawfully converting rental units to operate [as] hotels has got to stop," City Attorney Mike Feuer said Monday.

Feuer said at a news conference that he has sued owners of three apartment buildings, in Hollywood and Venice, who turned their properties into hotels.

He filed criminal charges last week against owners of a rent-controlled building near Hollywood who allegedly kicked out all their tenants to replace them with a parade of high-paying, short-term customers brought in by online rental service Airbnb, all in violation of state and city laws.

The full story is here.