The Claremont City Council is set to vote tomorrow, Tuesday, April 22, on whether to lift the city’s so-called ban on short-term rentals.
If Claremont’s leadership was actually honest, we would understand the ban was never real.
According to the city’s own 2024 staff report, there are currently 81 short-term rentals operating in Claremont, despite the official ban prohibiting rentals under 30 days. Nearly 80 percent are entire homes, and 88 percent are single-family properties—meaning they’re not just spare bedrooms, they’re full residences pulled off the long-term market. All are operating illegally, and the city knows it.
Enforcement has been nearly nonexistent.Since 2020, only 23 properties have received citations, and just 38 code violation cases have been opened in total. That’s not meaningful enforcement, that’s a quiet shrug from a city unwilling to confront a problem it’s already surrendered to.
The city relies on complaints, not active monitoring. There is no dedicated enforcement division, and platforms like Airbnb don’t check legality before publishing a listing. If a host gets caught, the fine is just $100 to $500. That’s just slap on the wrist - it’s less than they make in a weekend.
So now, instead of cracking down, the city is preparing to legalize what has quietly become the norm.
The proposed ordinance would create a permitting process, require proof of primary residence, ban commercial events like weddings, and limit where short-term rentals can operate. It’s being sold as regulation but let’s be clear, it is a retroactive permission slip for people who broke the rules and got away with it.
And the cost? Housing.
Short-term rentals take away homes out of the long-term rental pool. They reduce available housing, inflate rents, and create a fake “market rate” shaped by tourism demand instead of local need. STRs turn stable neighborhoods into rotating hotels. They profit the few while displacing the many.
This vote isn’t just about zoning. It’s about whether Claremont continues to chip away at its livability, one Airbnb at a time.
IS ANYONE ON THE DAIS WILLING TO SAY THIS OUT LOUD?
Legalizing STRs is just another case of the city privatizing public interest under the banner of “efficiency.” It is housing policy through a utilitarian lens, which is typical for politicians. Instead of looking through the lens of morality, this particular housing policy prioritizes whoever can extract the most profit, not who needs a place to live. This is the same logic that gutted public transit, hollowed out social housing, and turned basic needs into speculative assets. Airbnb is just the latest mask on an old face: commodification in the guise of choice.
If we keep designing cities for tourists instead of residents, we’re not just getting priced out, we’re watching it happen in real time.
The meeting is tomorrow at 6:30 PM at 225 W. Second Street. Public comments are due by 3 PM at CityClerk@claremontca.gov.
Julian Lucas, is a photographer, a purveyor of books, and writer, but mostly a photographer. Don’t ever ask him to take photos of weddings or quinceaneras, or any other events because he will charge you a ton of money you couldn’t even make payments on.
