There’s a little-known secret about many of those recreational vehicles seen lining the streets in the city and county of Los Angeles. Many of them are rentals owned by so called “van lords.” The city of LA has a new plan to crack down on the practice.

What You Need To Know

  • Some streets in LA County are lined bumper to bumper with large recreational vehicles

  • These often serve as homes for individuals and families; in some cases they are rented from so called “van lords”

  • The LA City Council approved a motion prohibiting the sale or rental of RVs for use as housing

  • Outreach efforts are underway with a special focus on uniquely impacted unincorporated areas

There are streets where large campers are parked bumper to bumper. They often serve as homes for individuals and families, but they also pose safety and environmental concerns.

The LA City Council approved a motion prohibiting the sale or rental of RVs for use as housing. Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez introduced amendments to help RV renters find stable housing.

Also Tuesday, Councilwoman Traci Park introduced a motion trying to regulate RV parking around schools, daycare centers, parks and homes.

The motion that was approved seeks to amend city law by adding RVs to the list of vehicles considered unsuitable for housing. Violators will be met with an escalating series of fines that are still being determined.

Spectrum News reported LA County is fast-tracking the RV encampment pilot program that was started over the summer with its own homelessness solution: Pathway Home. These outreach efforts have successfully removed several dozen RVs over the past several weeks, according to records kept by the county.

Supervisor for LA County’s 2nd District Holly Mitchell along with Supervisor Kathryn Barger wrote the motion to start the pilot program that became the basis of Pathway Home’s RV encampment resolution protocol. Mitchell said there are more than 2,000 RVs in her district. This issue seems to especially flourish in areas such as East Gardena and West Rancho Dominguez.

“The unincorporated areas of the second district saw a significant increase in these RV encampments, frankly, as our neighboring municipalities attempted to deal with this moral crisis and dilemma by putting up ‘no parking’ signs,” Mitchell said last week during an outreach effort near Main Street and Spring Street in West Rancho Dominguez. As of Tuesday, that half a mile of road had been cleared and lined with temporary no parking signs.

Park is pushing for a study to pinpoint the best spots to put these RVs.