Few LA Crime Reports Linked to Short Term Rentals

Data shows the number of serious crimes tied to online property rentals have declined since 2020.

NBC Universal, Inc.

The LAPD recorded about 175 serious crimes at short-term rental locations around the City in the last three years, according to crime data that does not include the triple-murder and shooting at a home in the Beverly Crest neighborhood last weekend.

Reports flagged about 75 incidents at short-term rental properties in 2020, 50 in 2021, and 48 in 2022, although there are indicators that the data pool is incomplete.

The number of crime reports in 2022 represent fewer than 1% of the City's total, according to publicly available statistical records.

One possible reason for the inconsistent reports are the methods of collection. The LAPD asks officers to categorize the locations of crime reports, but many cases the I-Team reviewed were listed by the type of property, such as a single family residence or town home, rather than as a "short term rental" category.

Other reports included a secondary statistical tag that the crime occurred at a short-term rental without the correct location-type recorded.

There were two shootings and murders at short-term rentals in August 2020 in an area not far from the most recent killings.

One such shooting happened Aug. 4, 2020 at a large hillside home on Mulholland Drive when a 35-year-old woman was shot to death. The NBC4 I-Team reported that the homeowner had been sent warning letters about failing to register the property as a short-term rental.

On Aug. 26, 2020 a man from Santa Clarita was murdered at a short-term rental property on San Ysidro Drive. A second man was wounded in the shooting and survived.

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