Amid ongoing complaints from residents about Airbnb usage in their communities, the West Hollywood City Council on Monday directed staff to create an 18-month pilot program to regulate “home sharing.”

“The way the whole world is going these days, it’s inevitable,” Councilman John Duran said. “Short-term rentals are here to stay.”

West Hollywood is the sixth-highest revenue-generating neighborhood in the Los Angeles area for Airbnb, according to a 2015 report by the advocacy organization Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy. But residents have complained about adverse effects on their communities caused by short-term renters, and city officials have struggled to enforce the current laws.

Short-term rentals – defined, according to West Hollywood municipal code, as the rental of a residence or part of a residence for less than 31 days – are currently banned throughout the city. The city also prohibits advertising a less-than 31-day rental of a property, or a portion of one.

As of July 12, the city has received 304 complaints about whole unit rentals, according to Daniel Mick, West Hollywood code compliance supervisor. Forty-four citations have been issued and $23,649 in payments have been collected by the city.

Mick recommended that the City Council allow “true hosted home sharing,” in which property owners (or tenants who have permission from their property owners) rent space in their units while living there themselves. Some Airbnb hosts around the world have bought or rented properties solely to use them for short-term rentals, leading to complaints by neighbors in some cases.

Duran qualified his support by saying the pilot program should be limited to condos or single-family homes. Renters, he said, have faced eviction after their landlords discovered they were using their units for short-term rentals.

But Mayor John Heilman said the program would require tenants to seek permission from the owners of their units.

“That would alleviate any kind of concern about the owner then turning around and using this as justification for eviction,” he said.

The pilot program could also require hosts to have a license that must be renewed yearly. Another possible operating condition could limit the number of guests to two more people than twice the number of bedrooms in a unit (for example, no more than four people in a one-bedroom unit or six in a two-bedroom unit).

Some residents have been vocal about their opposition to their neighbors using Airbnb or other short-term rental sites. Others have appreciated the additional income they’ve been able to earn by renting space in their apartments, which, in some cases, has helped them afford the steep cost of living in West Hollywood.

Councilman John D’Amico said he knew a resident who was evicted from his rent-controlled apartment last year after making it available for short-term rental.

“I think its going to happen no matter what and the more we can engage with host compliance and the more we can regulate the way its happening, I think, for the better,” he said.

West Hollywood resident Larry Block said he was able to save his business in Boystown after a year of renting one of his bedrooms.

“I probably wouldn’t be standing here right now if it wasn’t for Airbnb,” he said.

City staff will return with a proposed ordinance in approximately 90 days.

Councilwoman Lindsey Horvath mentioned the frustrations residents have had due to disturbances they attribute to short-term renters in their community. Despite photos, links to Airbnb listings and other evidence gathered by residents, enforcement of the city’s current short-term rental laws has fallen short of their expectations.

“I’m hopeful that we’re able to both make a step in the direction of seeing what home sharing can bring to our community, but also that we have a lot more teeth to the enforcement against the kinds of behaviors we don’t want to see,” she said.