To: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
From: JOE HOFFMAN, CHIEF OF POLICE
TITLE
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APPROVE AN AGREEMENT WITH DECKARD TECHNOLOGIES, INC. FOR USE OF THE RENTALSCAPE DATA PLATFORM TO SUPPORT THE CITY OF REDONDO BEACH IN IDENTIFYING AND ADDRESSING ISSUES RELATED TO THE ILLEGAL OPERATION OF SHORT-TERM RENTALS IN THE CITY FOR AN ANNUAL AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $7,400 AND THE TERM JUNE 10, 2025 THROUGH JUNE 9, 2026, WITH THE OPTION TO RENEW FOR ADDITIONAL ONE-YEAR TERMS
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Redondo Beach Municipal Code (RBMC) bans the rental of any residential property for less than 30 days. Despite the ban, the Redondo Beach Police Department’s Code Enforcement Division has experienced a steady volume of complaints regarding short-term rentals (STRs) operating in residential zones. Properties being marketed and booked as STRs present significant enforcement challenges and can disrupt community well-being.
To effectively manage this issue, the Police Department proposes an agreement with Deckard Technologies, Inc. to utilize their Rentalscape platform, a proprietary data platform that will help staff pinpoint and monitor STR activity in the City with unmatched accuracy. Rentalscape’s advanced data analytics will help to determine property ownership, listing history, and projected rental activity. This will allow the Police Department to take proactive steps in preventing the operation of STRs rather than relying on community members to report quality of life violations perpetrated by individuals renting unauthorized STRs in the City.
BACKGROUND
Over the past several years, the Redondo Beach Police Department’s Code Enforcement Division has seen a steady influx of complaints from residents regarding STR’s. These complaints include noise disturbances, illegal occupancy, overcrowding, and acute parking issues. These issues burden the limited resources that the Code Enforcement Division have at their disposal.
Despite the STR ban in the RBMC, homes continue to be rented on a short-term basis, creating major challenges for the Police Department. Much of this difficulty stems from the way STR platforms operate. Major STR websites do not provide the exact location of the property until after a paid booking is made. As a result, Code Enforcement Officers do not have the information needed to proactively contact the individuals or companies utilizing their properties as STRs. It is almost impossible to identify property owners, or assign blame for violations, without knowing a property’s exact location or background rental data.
This lack of transparency, coupled with the evasive nature of online listings, have created a frustrating cycle where residents report ongoing violations, but the City struggles to respond effectively due to insufficient access to actionable data.
To close this knowledge gap, staff researched options to obtain more comprehensive STR data. Rentalscape, developed by Deckard Technologies, Inc., offers Redondo Beach a powerful tool to combat the challenges of enforcing the City’s STR ban. Using proprietary technology, Rentalscape accurately identifies STR properties, even without confirmed bookings, and provides real-time insight into new reservations within 24 hours, allowing the City to take proactive enforcement efforts.
In addition to real-time monitoring, Rentalscape maintains a comprehensive historical database of STR activity in Redondo Beach that dates back to 2019. This extensive archive includes every booking and stay made on each major rental platform. This enables the Code Enforcement Division to access long-term trend analysis, investigate repeat offenders, and build stronger cases for enforcement action.
The platform features an interactive dashboard that allows City staff to view STR activity in Redondo Beach on a map interface, complete with overlays aligned with zoning districts. City staff will have unlimited access to Rentalscape data, which can easily be downloaded in multiple formats for further analysis or documentation. This will reduce the amount of time staff spends researching properties and will allow the Code Enforcement Division to focus on contacting STR owners to reduce current STR activity and prevent other property owners from violating the City’s existing STR ban.
Staff recommends the Council approve an agreement with Deckard Technologies, Inc. to utilize their Rentalscape data platform to assist staff in addressing issues related to STRs operating despite the City’s ban on renting residential properties for periods of less than 30 days.
COORDINATION
The Agreement was reviewed and approved as to form by the City Attorney’s Office. Online access to the platform will be coordinated with the Information Technology Department.
FISCAL IMPACT
The cost for unlimited access to the Rentalscape platform will not exceed $7,400 for the initial one-year term.
APPROVED BY:
Mike Witzansky, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
• Agmt - Deckard Technologies, Inc. (Signed Agreement to be Blue Foldered)
• Insurance - Deckard Technologies, Inc.