A group of Beverly Hills homeowners, renters, and property managers has sued the city over its ban on short-term rentals, arguing in federal court that the ordinance amounts to an unconstitutional taking of their property. The lawsuit, filed August 31 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, was first reported by the Beverly Press & Park Labrea News.
The plaintiff is the Beverly Hills Vacation Rental Alliance, a group with roughly two dozen members that includes both hosts and renters affected by the rule.
What the Ban Actually Says
Beverly Hills adopted the ordinance in August 2025, and per the Beverly Press’s reporting, it prohibits rentals of less than one year in both single-family and multifamily residential zones citywide. That replaced a looser 2014 framework that had allowed single-family homeowners and accessory-unit owners to rent out their properties for stretches under six months, up to twice a year.
The Legal Argument
The complaint leans on several constitutional theories at once: that the ban functions as an unconstitutional taking of private property, that it violates due process and equal protection guarantees, and that it infringes on residents’ privacy rights. The suit also raises a narrower state-law claim, alleging the city failed to send a substantially modified version of the ordinance back to its Planning Commission before final adoption. The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the ordinance unlawful and to permanently block the city from enforcing it.
One of the named organizers behind the alliance is the owner of a 1913 landmark property in the city, and the group’s members have described relying on short-term and mid-term rental income for years before the ban took effect. The city has defended the ordinance publicly as a measure aimed at preserving residential character and housing affordability.
Why This Case Could Matter Beyond Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is far from the only city that has moved to restrict short-term rentals in the past two years. If a federal court sides with the rental alliance on the takings or due-process claims, it would hand other property owners fighting similar bans in other cities a template for their own lawsuits.
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