Glendale Neighborhood Frustrated After an Illegal Hostel Moves In

On a tree-lined street that looks like many other neighborhoods in Southern California, residents say someone new moved in and has turned their block upside down, renting beds in a home by the night.

“We started noticing people coming in at very late hours, lots of cars, late at night with suitcases coming and going.  And we just didn’t know what it was,” a concerned neighbor, who asked not to be identified, told the I-Team.

Another neighbor found the answer online. The single-family home was listed on multiple home-sharing websites as a hostel, complete with a pool, a large kitchen, and bunk beds in numerous rooms. The beds are listed for $40 per night, with no minimum stay required.

Residents say they’ve observed at least one person kicked out of the hostel sitting on the curb for hours at a time, with no place to go. On several nights, the hostel residents have burned fires in the backyard, against city ordinance, according to the neighbors.

And recently, the neighbor who spoke to the I-Team  says he checked the Megan’s Law website and discovered a registered sex offender listed the hostel as his residence.

“Who knows who else is living there. And it’s just a real daily concern,” said the concerned homeowner.

When the I-Team asked Bradley Calvert, Glendale’s Director of Community Development if there was any way this type of business could legally operate, he said, “We would need to look at what the actual activity is going on there right now.”

The city of Glendale has a Home Sharing Ordinance that requires short term rentals of any kind to obtain a permit and have a host who lives on site. But the I-Team found there is no specific restriction on the number of rooms or beds that can be rented.

Calvert confirmed the Glendale hostel does not currently have a permit and therefor is illegal.

“That’s the only information that we really have at this point because again our inspectors need to be able to gather information. And we’ve attempted communication both with the tenant and the owner of the property,” Calvert told the I-Team.

The city says the host of the hostel isn’t consistently cooperating with city officials. The host did not respond to the I-Team’s calls for comment. 

After the I-Team contacted Glendale officials about the hostel, inspectors issued two citations to the property owner—not the host operating the hostel. The fines amounted to just over $300 dollars. 

Those citation also demand the host “cease operations” but the I-Team found the property is still posted online and the host is still taking reservations.

Calvert says he can understand why residents in the neighborhood are frustrated.

“We do understand and empathize with that. But at the same time, we have to follow our process, “ he added. 

The I-Team found hostels like the one in Glendale are operating across Southern California. In fact, the host operating the hostel in Glendale appears to be operating two other hostels—one in North Hills and one in Northridge.

In a statement to the I-Team, the LA Planning Department confirmed those hostels, like the one in Glendale,  are also operating illegally.

“No applications for a home-sharing registration were ever submitted for either of the properties. These listings have been forwarded to be monitored so that a warning letter can be sent out to the property owners,” a Planning Department spokesperson said in an email to NBC4.

“It’s very shocking” said Tori Funk, a research analyst for the advocacy group Better Neighbors LA.

“The fact that these hosts are flagrantly violating the law shows that the city is not protecting housing and the interests of residents the way that it should,” Funk told the I-Team.

She says public pressure on city officials is the best way to create reforms and update home sharing ordinances to prevent these illegal operations.

 “I understand some people use that for side income and to help supplement, but this is a hostel It’s way different,” the concerned homeowner, who lives near that illegal hostel in Glendale, said.

“I think the regulations need to be updated to account for something like this,” he added.