Hacienda Heights neighbors say LA County's short-term rental law is flouted at 'nuisance' house

HACIENDA HEIGHTS, Calif. (KABC) -- Residents of a quiet Hacienda Heights neighborhood are upset that a new Los Angeles County ordinance regulating short-term rentals is not being enforced at a home they say is consistently being rented out to more than a dozen people a night, and ruining the quality of the community.

"He turned it into a full-blown Motel 6," said neighbor Rod Martinez, referring to the owner of the home. "Every single night we have about a minimum of 10 people to sometimes 20."

Martinez, who lives just down the block from the home, says for the past three years, the Cardillo Avenue house has been used as a short-term rental, with the bedrooms inside divided up to fit a larger number of people.

Martinez says the people who stay there pack the street with their cars and leave garbage throughout the area.

"The trash is horrendous, they just throw trash," he said. "It seems like they eat in the cars and after they're done with them they just throw it out the window."

Neighbors blame a jump in car break-ins and mail theft on the short-term residents who rent the rooms for about $30 a night.

Earlier this week a 32-year-old man, Tyler Gardner or Hacienda Heights, died in the home. His cause of death has not been released, but Martinez says medical close calls are familiar at the house.

"We knew that something like this was eventually going to happen, some tragedy," he said. "And it wasn't a question of if, it was a question of when."

Eyewitness News was unable to reach the owners of the home for comment.

Last year, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors passed a new short-term rental ordinance cracking down on companies like AirBnB and VRBO, allowing their rentals only in homes where the owner actually lives, and limiting the number of people who can stay in them.

The Hacienda Heights home in question is in Supervisor Hilda Solis's district. In a written statement issued after ABC7's story originally aired, Solis said her office had been working unsuccessfully with the owner of the home.

"In light of ongoing efforts to ensure neighborhood safety," the statement said. "I have formally requested that the TTC (Treasurer and Tax Collector) and DRP (Department of Regional Planning) open a nuisance case and pursue all necessary enforcement actions, as the property may be operating without proper STR registration."