Editordude: NBC7 just published an amazing investigate report by Alexis Riva on the “host” loophole that has allowed Michael Micky Mills to have 114 licenses for short-term rentals in Ocean Beach alone. It’s such an excellent report that we are compelled to repost it in its entirety and urge readers to watch the NBC7 video that accompanies it.
By Alexis Rivas, Mike Dorfman, Meredith Royster and Jay Yoo / NBC7 / June 7, 2023
On May 1, San Diego’s short term rental occupancy ordinance took effect. The goal was to regulate an industry that’s accused of reducing the number of places people can live and decrease quality-of-life issues that can arise between vacationers and locals. But it appears at least one property owner in Ocean Beach has discovered a loophole that bypasses the spirit of the ordinance.
Each short-term rental license requires a “host.” That person must have the legal right to occupy the unit. A host isn’t allowed to hold more than one license at a time.
But a host isn’t the same thing as the property owner, and NBC 7 Investigates found a single property owner named Michael Mills is connected to 114 short-term rental licenses in Ocean Beach.
NBC 7 Investigates spoke with three of Mills’ tenants at 5188 West Point Loma Blvd, who recently found a letter on their doors giving them 60 days’ notice that their month-to-month leases would not be renewed.