Los Angeles’ Homelessness Referendum, Explained

Unpacking the city’s unorthodox strategy to shelter the homeless.

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A homeless encampment lines a street in Skid Row on December 14, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Los Angeles has a new idea to tackle the city’s homeless crisis: placing the homeless in hotels with room vacancies.

The Hotel Housing Voucher Program—included in the proposed Responsible Hotel Ordinance set to appear before voters on their March 5 primary election ballot—would mandate hotels to report all vacancies to the city by 2 p.m. daily. The city would then send homeless families and individuals to hotels, along with a prepaid voucher determined at a “Fair Market Rate.” 

All Los Angeles hotels would be subject to this program—from Motel 6 to the Ritz-Carlton—and prohibited from refusing homeless guests.

The Responsible Hotel Ordinance was put forward by Unite Here Local 11, a labor union representing more than 32,000 employees in various sectors such as hotels, restaurants, airports, sports arenas, and convention centers, as stated on their website.

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  1. Avatar photo
    Ben Connelly

    Subsidizing demand will only make the problem worse.

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  2. Avatar photo
    Cogitatio

    "nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."

    I would think the property owners will argue that "just compensation" is not just paying for the hotel stay, but also damages, loss of business when tourists and business folks do not want to stay in a hotel with people who have the kinds of issues that homeless folks frequently do, and so forth.

    And that is particularly true for those high end hotels. How does the city square the circle of either paying the going rate for a Ritz Carlton level hotel, or having all the Motel 8 owners screaming that you cannot exempt the expensive hotels without violating the normal hotel owner's rights?
    Or, I suppose, telling the Ritz Carlton owners that they are going to receive Motel 8 rates? That will go over well.

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  3. Danvicki

    Looks like an illegal taking of private property.
    3 & 4 amendment violations.
    Then consider a visitor to the city who reserved a room in a “nice” hotel who upon arriving discovers the hotel full of street people; not the former living in my car type, but those used to living without normal restraints on activities.
    The hotel would/ could loose all retail customers.

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  4. Allen Z

    What's needed are dormitory type facilities. With on-site security, medical/counseling. With public transit nearby. Old college dorms and military bases. Not hotels, and not in existing residential neighborhoods.

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  5. Marcia E

    This sounds very well-intentioned. What could possibly go wrong? I can think of a few things, including the possibility offering motel/hotel accommodations could attract more homeless (from other places). As more homeless are housed in motels/hotels, other would be guests may opt for more exclusive accommodations, maybe Airbnb, or timeshare condos. Speculators snap up houses and condos to create more Airbnbs, timeshares, etc. while motels/hotels struggle with the challenges of maintaining hygiene and safety while their union workers strike because working conditions have deteriorated due to an influx of people with some serious problems.

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  6. Kevin M

    Here's an idea: They have the names and addresses of the 100s of thousands who signed this petition: give the homeless vouchers to board with these generous folks. At a fair market rent.

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  7. Kevin M

    How about families with guest rooms? Or that ADU they are building to rent? Can't a landlord choose tenants on some nondisrminatory basis? Are "homeless" now a protected class?

    And what is a fair market rent? Is it the same for a fancy hotel on the beach and the Shooters' Hotel in Willowbrook? If not, the city will have a preference in where to assign people.

    For people living in their cars, they may not like the (unaddressed) daily parking rates at the JW Marriot.

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  8. Gerald Cuesta

    Stupidest idea I’ve heard since reparations. And I live in Los Angeles. The vast majority homeless people I encounter on the street - and I encounter a lot on a daily basis - are severely mentally ill or addicted and strung out. Something the government refuses to fully acknowledge — enforced hospitalization. A mentally ill woman covered head to toe in sores and lesions crawled into an outdoor dining kiosk during lunch rush and laid there, screaming and scratching at her flesh. One of the few times the police and ambulance arrived quickly. A mentally ill man around the corner from me - on main strip of stores and a popular supermarket - has been sleeping in his feces and urine for months, the flies thick and the stench unbearable, his belongings — spread out like trash — all over the place. No one will bring him to the hospital for help. Legally no one can move him. He needs help. And the city needs to help the tax payers as well. Allowing living conditions over all to fall for everyone because of this is criminal as is letting these people stay on the streets. And yes when I can afford to — I will move.

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    1. Kevin M

      You would not believe how cheap it is to live here in Albuquerque. The climate is a bit better than the Valley and never humid.

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  9. Avatar photo
    BloggerBarbie

    Supply is almost certainly not going to keep up, even with laxer real estate rules, and hotels are at best a temporary situation. We need to reduce demand on these cities. There are lots of cities that aren't LA, NYC, Atlanta, Seattle, etc, and lots of small towns, with housing that is sitting empty. Businesses need to be encouraged to spread out from these cities and build new hubs in different places. That won't solve the problems of drugs and mental health, but it may help decrease pressure on rent prices for the employees of the businesses that remain.

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  10. Kturner625

    I sorta doubt the voters will pass this, but if so it will kill the (non-City/non-homeless) hotel business. There is no way my wife is going to countenance staying at a hotel that's 25% homeless occupied. I suspect many others fill the same way. LA is a magnificent city, along with San Fran, Portland, and many others on the West Coast. It's a shame to see what is happening to these otherwise historic, beautiful cities. They don't feel safe anymore, and folks are already not visiting anymore.

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    1. Kevin M

      When I left, I told people I might come back after the collapse, but now I fear that the collapse is going to be total.

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