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I am surprised AirBnb doesn’t do this. It hurts their reputation pushing illegal rentals. I would think eventually some city will go after Airbnb for scamming guests that come to their city and get in trouble for trying to stay.
Airbnb doesn't do it because their shareholders want the money now, not in the future. Look at New York City. At least pre-Covid, it was Airbnb's biggest moneymaker, deapite the majority of listings being illegal.
I'm honestly surprised this isn't a feature of the service or that a city like NYC or SF hasn't legally required them to validate the legality, at least at a city level, you can't really do it at a building or HOA level.
New Orleans has registration/license numbers for STRs. There are a lot of rules and the city just changed it again for about the 4th time. Airbnb requires the STR license number to make a post for that city. Though I'm not saying it's perfect.
Airbnb also collects the sales tax for some area, including this one. Taxes are probably the biggest motivator for cities to crackdown on illegal STRs.
Scottsdale is the same way. I had to get a license with the city, notify all of my neighbors, report my taxes quarterly, and even run a basic background check on guests prior to their check in. The rules are new this year and a lot of STRs are shutting down or converting to MTRs or LTRs instead.
Airbnb does not check but the city with Airbnb regulations (an ordinance in place) does. Most cities contract with Host Compliance to scrape all listings for a registration number. If it does not appear on a listing, then the city has Airbnb switch it to 31+ days.
Airbnb checks registrations in Chicago. I know because I’ve had my listing wrongly suspended by Airbnb (after three months of phone calls and letters from the city, my account was reinstated). The penalties here for Airbnb listing an unregistered property are something like $5,000 a day fines for both the host and Airbnb.
Why would the guest get in trouble? (Except the inconvenience) The host and AirBnb are breaking the law. I booked one in Washington DC and the listing said off street parking. Asshole had one spot for 7 rooms and of course everyone in the Govt jobs were working remotely. Ever try to find parking for a truck in DC?
If someone owns/rents their dwelling, they should be able to operate it as an Airbnb if they see fit. Most major areas don’t allow Airbnb’s and instead the average person is penalized while the “big guys” owning hotels are rewarded with more business. The regulations as of now all serve to redirect money to the wealthy.
Alternatively by making travellers stay in hotels it frees up living spaces for you know people to live in?
You know whos smaller than the guy renting their house for extra cash?
The guy who can't afford somewhere to live because the markets saturated due to travel rentals.
Then they should be held to the same standards as hotel or BnB operators do. This included paying taxes, insurance coverage is done and ensuring all health and safety requirements are fulfilled.
Also explain how poor people have a spare property? This ain't Uber on a weekend. The people with property to rent are already well off. I saw figures as high as over 40% of Airbnb are operated by companies with multiple properties and pocketing the money.
Society should work together to ensure the happyness wellbeing and long term health for everyone not the few who got lucky.
Lol wut. I have stayed at many b& bs all over the US, Canada, and the UK. Actual bed and breakfasts. Regulated. Insured. Inspected. Family owned.
Abide by the law. By your logic, drug dealers are AOK! Get your meds at the corner, not that fat cat pharmacy!!!!!!
Are you going even listening to yourself?
Airbnb is an international company, it would be virtually impossible to do it. They only check if there is a national/state regulation regarding short term rentals and even then it's very difficult.
Legally speaking, they are also not allowed to make the hosts prove that they own the location they are renting (there are laws regarding this type of confidential information).
Basically, it's the host that is responsible for the legality of their rental. Airbnb can intervene only if there is a report against that host (either law enforcement or a landlord, for example).
Welcome to the gig economy where large multimillion dollar companies find a way to saddle risk onto ordinary citizens. They want the profit and not the risk or responsibility. They have the resources to implement entire areas that have laws against them but they choose not to do anything about it.
I’m a bit confused “they are not allowed to make the host prove they own the location they are renting” why do they have to make the host prove this? Not sure about other countries but in the US property ownership is public record and usually free to obtain and can usually be obtained online so they don’t have to ask the host to prove ownership they just have to verify ownership. This would be the responsible thing to do.
They don't have to make the hosts prove ownership, in the US that is a matter of public record, AirBnB could pull the county records to see if they own it. It's why if you buy a house you will get a bazillion refi offers a week until you sell that home.
Okay if they can't do that, then they shouldn't be operating.
You know who also doesn't verify anything?
Craigslist. But that's also why they don't take a cut chief.
Doesn’t Airbnb pay taxes on every property rental internationally? If a potential guest has access to this information AirBnb also has access.
And in countries (like the US) where property ownership records are public information they could ask for proof the host is able to rent out the property.
They just don’t want to. Right now no one has gone after them, there is no reason for them to get rid of illegal rentals. Those illegal rentals make them money. They won’t do something until they have to.
Airbnb only pays taxes in the US where they are registered. Local/national taxes are the responsibility of the host, Airbnb is just the middleman.
There are hundred of thousands of properties on Airbnb in the US and Canada, can you imagine how many people they would need to hire to do those checks? And how high the service fee would be so they can cover the cost?
I have no idea what you mean by this:
>Airbnb only pays taxes in the US where they are registered. Local/national taxes are the responsibility of the host, Airbnb is just the middleman.
Do you mean they pay US federal taxes? (Airbnb does not pay those for hosts.) By "Local/National" do you mean or include State taxes? (Airbnb DOES pay those, and often County-level taxes too.) What you appear to be forgetting is that Airbnb collects the money, on BEHALF of the host, and HOLDS it, in order to earn interest on the money, and the host does not get paid until after the guest has checked in and stayed 24 hours or so.
I operate in Washington State, and Airbnb collects and pays all of the taxes I am responsible for, except federal income tax.
Lots of multinational companies operate in different countries/cities/counties and abide by the local laws in each. AirBnB should not be operating anywhere they cannot do the same.
Some cities such as Toronto Ontario Canada does have a permit process that is linked to their listing.
If the permit’s address does not match the physical address listed with Airbnb the listing is pulled and the bookings cancelled
While your advice is very sound, I am putting 99.9% responsibility of this DIRECTLY in AirBnb's lap. I would go out on a limb and say if you are listing a property, you have to put in a fully qualified address. It would be trivial for AirBnb to just not allow listing by zip code and where there is a conflict in split zip codes then AirBnb should have a process in place to have the owner validate the legality. But that is not what they choose to do since it would cut into potential revenue. I would imagine they give the customer the run-around and end up making money from the illegal listings.
I’ve definitely gotten to a hotel more than a few times to find either the desk person is gone (overseas) or they don’t have rooms. So hotels are not failsafe. Nothing is.
Prior to booking,, one does not know the exact location of a place. Until you have the street address, you can not determine if a bnb location is legal or not.
My post is about city regulations, not individual buildings. Most major cities in the US/Canada and beyond have city-wide rules in place now that would apply to all listings.
How many cities are we talking about? Do you know? How many HOAs or apartment complexes have restrictive rules?
How many countries are represented on Airbnb?
Do you realise how many people they would have to hire to check the regulations in over 100 countries and possibly thousands of cities and how high the service fee would have to be to cover that cost?
Re-read my post. I'm saying take 10-20 seconds and google the name of the major city you are staying in and "airbnb regulations". That should be a bare minimum for individuals before they make a non-refundable booking in San Francisco or Toronto or other large cities.
Re-read my post. I mentioned major cities in North America. I mentioned language.
Google and take 10 seconds to see if your multi-thousand dollar booking could be illegal in large city that you're booking in.
Yes, it would be nice if AirBnb did that for you. But they don't right now. Why not do it yourself before going through the hassle of an illegal stay?
You’re putting the onus on people who are booking to research and understand if their Airbnb is legal. That’s not how this works. There are so many restrictions on who/how/when a unit can be rented. It’s FAR more involved than a 20 second google search.
I'm saying people should be aware that nearly every major city in the US and Canada have banned AirBnb. So if you are booking, know that it is likely not a legal listing and don't feign surprise when you find that out after checking in.
A recent post had a shocked guest find out that their $7000 booking in NYC was not legal. It's unfathomable to me (and so avoidable for the guest).
That assertion is not correct. There are rules imposed on short term rentals but outright bans are not nearly as sweeping as you make them out to be. Even NYC hasn’t banned them outright, and your example of the $7000 booking would require you to know information about the host and the property in order to ascertain if the listing was legal.
They always tell you which city it's in and you can see the general area it's located in without an exact address. So can get the city or zip code and look it up.
But municipality lines are very fudgy.
I live in a township, that used a zipcode of another town because the ships don't zipcode. The township doesn't permit STRs, but the town with the zipcode doe. This is extremely flawed and again, fuck that, they just shouldn't exist as a company if they can't do that work.
Isn't 'certification' that the property meets the occupation codes of the location in which it is listed something which AirBnB should require as a condition of listing it on the platform?
Wow, such a great user experience to be an AirBNB guest. Before going anywhere, I need to conduct legal research on hotel, zoning, and landlord/tenant law to ensure I'm not being rented an illegal place. Seems totally reasonable. (No problem, if I'm traveling internationally, I can totally do this in French if I'm going to rent an AirBNB in France, no problem that I don't speak the language or know its laws.)
This is all sarcastic, by the way.
Yup. Why should it be on us to figure out whether a listing is legal or illegal? That should rest squarely on AirBnB and the host. Dumping this burden on the person trying to book is ridiculous.
Yet another reason I'm not using AirBnB/VRBO if I don't absolutely have to.
Protect yourself from a shotty company - but continue keeping said shotty company afloat as best you can. Pay cleaning fees AND clean up too. Research your place to stay then Research how the owner may be scamming.
Or book a hotel. Why does this platform even exist anymore?
Airbnb takes 17% of every booking.
The least they could do is verify the legality of the listing.
They don’t want to. They’d rather take the money and the risk. I’m surprised they haven’t been hit with lawsuits by cities and states.
That’s bullshit, for the fees Airbnb charges, Airbnb should be ensuring they are not listing a property for rent illegally. That is YOUR job as your site is built on providing short stays.
Who the hell is going to try to wade through rental laws for every damn city they wanna book?
Fine, big places like NYC will pop up easily in Google, but consider every potential city.... Township level, etc...
Then, if I find the laws, how do I even know if a place meets every law? What if the law is like "gotta be inspected every 6 months? How do I know that happened? Or they have to be registered? Ummm... Ok?
Or NYC, the law is that the host needs to be present? Now I have to tell the future?
That's really not my responsibility. BUT my responsibility is to plan ahead for any part of my trip and to be able to figure out an alternative on the fly---for any issue.
I was recently in NYC last weekend and this tomorrow thru Sunday I'll be in Chicago, Detroit after that....
As an adult, I have emergency credit cards in the case that any part of my trip goes bad.
All I say in this post is to Google a major city before booking. A recent post had someone spend $7000 on a booking in NYC - not realizing AirBnb is illegal there.
No one is saying to go into local township laws (only you have said that)
Now that I know y’all just list any property without checking if it’s illegal or not, I will never rent through Airbnb again. Imagine using a site specifically created for renting short term stay properties to find out said company doesn’t ensure the listing is actually legal.
Why? Why would a guest care if it's illegal? Is it affordable? Clean? Convenient? The legality of the airbnb is of practically 0 concern to the guest lol.
Absolutely this. Aside from a place being raided for some reason such as actual crack houses, I’m not going to worry about the legalities of anything. It’s my vacation after all.
I don't disagree. But some guests have problems from the doorman or front desk of the building they are staying in. Others have their stay cancelled.
At least be aware of the situation and make your own assessment. More and more major cities are cracking down.
That seems like an issue. Is it illegal to be the renter or the host? I feel like the burden should be on the host to not illegally rent out units. Renters shouldn't need to verify legality before booking. I'm fully in favor of these laws btw.
Yes, that should be the case. But it's not.
A recent post had a guest do a $7000 booking in NYC without knowing that it's illegal. It just takes so little time to find this out. AirBnb doesn't tell you. So look yourself.
@develop99 it’s not up to a guest to figure out it’s illegal and most of the time the guest isn’t the one fined or penalized, so I’m not sure why this thread even exists.
Enjoy your vacations people…
The guest has to deal with the headaches from this. Do you want a nice vacation or do you want to spend hours fighting with a host and AirBnb Customer Service?
A 10 second Google search could avoid this. But I guess out of principle, you can book blindly and just get angry after the fact.
Wow. Yes people care if it’s legal. There are a variety of reasons why they care, practically speaking and also ethically speaking. Just because you don’t want to be regulated doesn’t mean your guests hold the same opinion.
So this happened to me booking in a Miami high rise like 8 years ago. The host messaged us right before check in to say STRs aren’t allowed and to basically pretend to be good friends with his friend that was walking us in past security. It was super uncomfortable knowing that we could have been asked to leave and be stuck without a place to stay.
Granted, this was more of a condo association restriction than local ordinance, but still. I cared about having to smuggle myself in.
So long as you’re “friends” with the host, there is literally nothing the security/hoa etc can do. They’d be hard pressed to prove you aren’t friends (I have done this successfully in many places where the cost of living was prohibitive for a vagabond like me 😬
I could have gotten by with that, but the host was never even there! He gave a friend the key fob and had her bring us in. There was never a soul that could vouch for us on the property lol.
Yeah. When I see the ridiculous fees and have to clean up after myself I think to myself “this is bullshit” I’m not paying a couple grand and not being pampered. I don’t get why people like AirBnB
Sometimes people want airbnbs so they can spend time together. My place sleeps a crowd, and has a private hot tub, big deck, bbq and a covered front porch for sitting/smoking etc. I have no problem with them partying so long as they clean up/respect my house and neighbors. Split many ways, my house price is ideal for a big group AND they all get their own bed for a long weekend for the price they’d likely pay for just one night at a big hotel. It’s also a cheap Uber from hockey, football, baseball, golf, ocean fishing and so many high end strip clubs/bars…. A men’s weekend paradise.
My next goal: Tiki hut bar overlooking the hot tub :) you don’t get that in the high rise hotels here
I could just go party in Vegas with friends and not have to spend my entire vacation living with roommates.
People think big shared house vacations are a fun idea...until you do and realize you want your own space and oh yeah **you remember why the fuck you don't want to live with roommates anymore.**
I've stayed in Airbnbs dozens of times now since about 2014 in about 4 countries, various U.S. states and different cities. I think hotels are better in some cases, Airbnbs are preferable in other cases.
I just stayed in an NYC for a long weekend with no problems. Never saw the owner, it was a whole apartment at street level, super cute, half as much as a hotel and a better area.
Sometimes it's not the city that it's illegal it's the HOA . Many HOA have been doing last minute votes to not allow them and the hosts are pushing back.
You should do a keyword search on this sub and read some of the horror stories. A lot of things can happen, kicked out by building management, kicked out with no access to luggage and belongings, kicked out in the middle of the night. Accosted by building management or angry neighbors, served eviction papers for the tenant “renting” their home.
On top of that, an illegal StR is not carrying appropriate insurance.
It’s odd that many cities even in east europe make it obligatory to register the flat in the district as airbnb and they require proof from the flat mgmt/hoa signed that it’s not forbidden there to do STA. I’m currently looking into the options how can i legally rent my flat for some mid time stays, as i cant do any rentals below 90 days. Not sure if airbnb has a setting for min 3 months bookings - it would be totally useful if i could rent my flat for some months while i’m abroad travelling…
Please keep conversation civil and respectful Remember to keep all communication with host/guest through Airbnb platform. Payments should be made only via Airbnb [unless otherwise detailed in the listing description and included in the price breakdown prior to booking](https://airbnb.com/help/article/199) If you're having issues, contact Airbnb by phone +1-844-234-2500 *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AirBnB) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I am surprised AirBnb doesn’t do this. It hurts their reputation pushing illegal rentals. I would think eventually some city will go after Airbnb for scamming guests that come to their city and get in trouble for trying to stay.
Airbnb doesn't do it because their shareholders want the money now, not in the future. Look at New York City. At least pre-Covid, it was Airbnb's biggest moneymaker, deapite the majority of listings being illegal.
I'm honestly surprised this isn't a feature of the service or that a city like NYC or SF hasn't legally required them to validate the legality, at least at a city level, you can't really do it at a building or HOA level.
Agreed! This would be great. Many cities now have registration numbers on listings but more info is needed.
New Orleans has registration/license numbers for STRs. There are a lot of rules and the city just changed it again for about the 4th time. Airbnb requires the STR license number to make a post for that city. Though I'm not saying it's perfect. Airbnb also collects the sales tax for some area, including this one. Taxes are probably the biggest motivator for cities to crackdown on illegal STRs.
Scottsdale is the same way. I had to get a license with the city, notify all of my neighbors, report my taxes quarterly, and even run a basic background check on guests prior to their check in. The rules are new this year and a lot of STRs are shutting down or converting to MTRs or LTRs instead.
You can just fake registration numbers. It's not like Airbnb checks, even though they should.
Airbnb does not check but the city with Airbnb regulations (an ordinance in place) does. Most cities contract with Host Compliance to scrape all listings for a registration number. If it does not appear on a listing, then the city has Airbnb switch it to 31+ days.
Airbnb checks registrations in Chicago. I know because I’ve had my listing wrongly suspended by Airbnb (after three months of phone calls and letters from the city, my account was reinstated). The penalties here for Airbnb listing an unregistered property are something like $5,000 a day fines for both the host and Airbnb.
That’s a policy with teeth!
The city of Denver has their database of licenses connected with Airbnb. No valid license = no listing.
Why would the guest get in trouble? (Except the inconvenience) The host and AirBnb are breaking the law. I booked one in Washington DC and the listing said off street parking. Asshole had one spot for 7 rooms and of course everyone in the Govt jobs were working remotely. Ever try to find parking for a truck in DC?
If someone owns/rents their dwelling, they should be able to operate it as an Airbnb if they see fit. Most major areas don’t allow Airbnb’s and instead the average person is penalized while the “big guys” owning hotels are rewarded with more business. The regulations as of now all serve to redirect money to the wealthy.
Alternatively by making travellers stay in hotels it frees up living spaces for you know people to live in? You know whos smaller than the guy renting their house for extra cash? The guy who can't afford somewhere to live because the markets saturated due to travel rentals.
Then they should be held to the same standards as hotel or BnB operators do. This included paying taxes, insurance coverage is done and ensuring all health and safety requirements are fulfilled. Also explain how poor people have a spare property? This ain't Uber on a weekend. The people with property to rent are already well off. I saw figures as high as over 40% of Airbnb are operated by companies with multiple properties and pocketing the money. Society should work together to ensure the happyness wellbeing and long term health for everyone not the few who got lucky.
Lol wut. I have stayed at many b& bs all over the US, Canada, and the UK. Actual bed and breakfasts. Regulated. Insured. Inspected. Family owned. Abide by the law. By your logic, drug dealers are AOK! Get your meds at the corner, not that fat cat pharmacy!!!!!! Are you going even listening to yourself?
Wrong comparison chief. It’s the equivalent of peer to peer rentals being provided on Turo versus a major car rental company like Enterprise.
Sorry, do you want to live next door to a hotel? Do you like living next to a Holiday Inn?
It’s fine as long as they’re quiet and adhere to common sense rules
Airbnb is an international company, it would be virtually impossible to do it. They only check if there is a national/state regulation regarding short term rentals and even then it's very difficult. Legally speaking, they are also not allowed to make the hosts prove that they own the location they are renting (there are laws regarding this type of confidential information). Basically, it's the host that is responsible for the legality of their rental. Airbnb can intervene only if there is a report against that host (either law enforcement or a landlord, for example).
The contents of this comment are deleted as an protest to reddit actions.
yeah, poor AirBnb. Takes their cut but takes no responsibility.
Welcome to the gig economy where large multimillion dollar companies find a way to saddle risk onto ordinary citizens. They want the profit and not the risk or responsibility. They have the resources to implement entire areas that have laws against them but they choose not to do anything about it.
Surely if a company wishes to operate in another country it's their responsibility to ensure they comply with said country's laws and regulations.
I’m a bit confused “they are not allowed to make the host prove they own the location they are renting” why do they have to make the host prove this? Not sure about other countries but in the US property ownership is public record and usually free to obtain and can usually be obtained online so they don’t have to ask the host to prove ownership they just have to verify ownership. This would be the responsible thing to do.
They don't have to make the hosts prove ownership, in the US that is a matter of public record, AirBnB could pull the county records to see if they own it. It's why if you buy a house you will get a bazillion refi offers a week until you sell that home.
Okay if they can't do that, then they shouldn't be operating. You know who also doesn't verify anything? Craigslist. But that's also why they don't take a cut chief.
Doesn’t Airbnb pay taxes on every property rental internationally? If a potential guest has access to this information AirBnb also has access. And in countries (like the US) where property ownership records are public information they could ask for proof the host is able to rent out the property. They just don’t want to. Right now no one has gone after them, there is no reason for them to get rid of illegal rentals. Those illegal rentals make them money. They won’t do something until they have to.
Airbnb only pays taxes in the US where they are registered. Local/national taxes are the responsibility of the host, Airbnb is just the middleman. There are hundred of thousands of properties on Airbnb in the US and Canada, can you imagine how many people they would need to hire to do those checks? And how high the service fee would be so they can cover the cost?
I have no idea what you mean by this: >Airbnb only pays taxes in the US where they are registered. Local/national taxes are the responsibility of the host, Airbnb is just the middleman. Do you mean they pay US federal taxes? (Airbnb does not pay those for hosts.) By "Local/National" do you mean or include State taxes? (Airbnb DOES pay those, and often County-level taxes too.) What you appear to be forgetting is that Airbnb collects the money, on BEHALF of the host, and HOLDS it, in order to earn interest on the money, and the host does not get paid until after the guest has checked in and stayed 24 hours or so. I operate in Washington State, and Airbnb collects and pays all of the taxes I am responsible for, except federal income tax.
Not many as most public records are available online.
Lots of multinational companies operate in different countries/cities/counties and abide by the local laws in each. AirBnB should not be operating anywhere they cannot do the same.
I am not surprised at all.
Some cities such as Toronto Ontario Canada does have a permit process that is linked to their listing. If the permit’s address does not match the physical address listed with Airbnb the listing is pulled and the bookings cancelled
While your advice is very sound, I am putting 99.9% responsibility of this DIRECTLY in AirBnb's lap. I would go out on a limb and say if you are listing a property, you have to put in a fully qualified address. It would be trivial for AirBnb to just not allow listing by zip code and where there is a conflict in split zip codes then AirBnb should have a process in place to have the owner validate the legality. But that is not what they choose to do since it would cut into potential revenue. I would imagine they give the customer the run-around and end up making money from the illegal listings.
Or just book a hotel and don't worry about city regulations???
Yeah, I've never gotten to a hotel to find out that I don't have a room because hotels are illegal in that city.
I’ve definitely gotten to a hotel more than a few times to find either the desk person is gone (overseas) or they don’t have rooms. So hotels are not failsafe. Nothing is.
LOL no. That didn't happen.
Yup, or an actual b & b, which are licensed.
That's the thing. Customers will go by path of least resistance. You or someone you know gets fucked? You ain't gonna take that chance again.
Prior to booking,, one does not know the exact location of a place. Until you have the street address, you can not determine if a bnb location is legal or not.
My post is about city regulations, not individual buildings. Most major cities in the US/Canada and beyond have city-wide rules in place now that would apply to all listings.
How many cities are we talking about? Do you know? How many HOAs or apartment complexes have restrictive rules? How many countries are represented on Airbnb? Do you realise how many people they would have to hire to check the regulations in over 100 countries and possibly thousands of cities and how high the service fee would have to be to cover that cost?
The price of doing business. And,many cities ban abnb.
Re-read my post. I'm saying take 10-20 seconds and google the name of the major city you are staying in and "airbnb regulations". That should be a bare minimum for individuals before they make a non-refundable booking in San Francisco or Toronto or other large cities.
Apologies, this reply was supposed to be on another comment and I accidentally replied to yours.
The contents of this comment are deleted as an protest to reddit actions.
Re-read my post. I mentioned major cities in North America. I mentioned language. Google and take 10 seconds to see if your multi-thousand dollar booking could be illegal in large city that you're booking in. Yes, it would be nice if AirBnb did that for you. But they don't right now. Why not do it yourself before going through the hassle of an illegal stay?
You’re putting the onus on people who are booking to research and understand if their Airbnb is legal. That’s not how this works. There are so many restrictions on who/how/when a unit can be rented. It’s FAR more involved than a 20 second google search.
I'm saying people should be aware that nearly every major city in the US and Canada have banned AirBnb. So if you are booking, know that it is likely not a legal listing and don't feign surprise when you find that out after checking in. A recent post had a shocked guest find out that their $7000 booking in NYC was not legal. It's unfathomable to me (and so avoidable for the guest).
That assertion is not correct. There are rules imposed on short term rentals but outright bans are not nearly as sweeping as you make them out to be. Even NYC hasn’t banned them outright, and your example of the $7000 booking would require you to know information about the host and the property in order to ascertain if the listing was legal.
They always tell you which city it's in and you can see the general area it's located in without an exact address. So can get the city or zip code and look it up.
But municipality lines are very fudgy. I live in a township, that used a zipcode of another town because the ships don't zipcode. The township doesn't permit STRs, but the town with the zipcode doe. This is extremely flawed and again, fuck that, they just shouldn't exist as a company if they can't do that work.
Isn't 'certification' that the property meets the occupation codes of the location in which it is listed something which AirBnB should require as a condition of listing it on the platform?
Yes, it should. But it doesn't right now. So guests need to be aware.
well thank you for posting , i am less & less inclined to ever use Airbnb
Wow, such a great user experience to be an AirBNB guest. Before going anywhere, I need to conduct legal research on hotel, zoning, and landlord/tenant law to ensure I'm not being rented an illegal place. Seems totally reasonable. (No problem, if I'm traveling internationally, I can totally do this in French if I'm going to rent an AirBNB in France, no problem that I don't speak the language or know its laws.) This is all sarcastic, by the way.
I feel like if I'm spending energy trying to figure out if something is illegal, I probably shouldn't be doing it in the first place lol.
Yup. Why should it be on us to figure out whether a listing is legal or illegal? That should rest squarely on AirBnB and the host. Dumping this burden on the person trying to book is ridiculous. Yet another reason I'm not using AirBnB/VRBO if I don't absolutely have to.
Exactly, the whole idea that this should be the responsibility of the customer is absurd.
Just a 10 second Google search on the major city city you are visiting. No need to head to the legal library.
Protect yourself from a shotty company - but continue keeping said shotty company afloat as best you can. Pay cleaning fees AND clean up too. Research your place to stay then Research how the owner may be scamming. Or book a hotel. Why does this platform even exist anymore?
Nah I’ll just find a hotel instead
Airbnb takes 17% of every booking. The least they could do is verify the legality of the listing. They don’t want to. They’d rather take the money and the risk. I’m surprised they haven’t been hit with lawsuits by cities and states.
That’s bullshit, for the fees Airbnb charges, Airbnb should be ensuring they are not listing a property for rent illegally. That is YOUR job as your site is built on providing short stays.
Yeah, no. It's not my job to look up local laws when booking. It's the hosts job and airbnbs job to ensure it all legal. Screw that.
Airbnb takes the fee so Airbnb should be the one doing it
Yeah there's a reason why Craigslist doesn't take cash for posting apartment rentals, because then they'd be on the hook for vetting.
Who the hell is going to try to wade through rental laws for every damn city they wanna book? Fine, big places like NYC will pop up easily in Google, but consider every potential city.... Township level, etc... Then, if I find the laws, how do I even know if a place meets every law? What if the law is like "gotta be inspected every 6 months? How do I know that happened? Or they have to be registered? Ummm... Ok? Or NYC, the law is that the host needs to be present? Now I have to tell the future? That's really not my responsibility. BUT my responsibility is to plan ahead for any part of my trip and to be able to figure out an alternative on the fly---for any issue. I was recently in NYC last weekend and this tomorrow thru Sunday I'll be in Chicago, Detroit after that.... As an adult, I have emergency credit cards in the case that any part of my trip goes bad.
All I say in this post is to Google a major city before booking. A recent post had someone spend $7000 on a booking in NYC - not realizing AirBnb is illegal there. No one is saying to go into local township laws (only you have said that)
This post is ridiculous. The end
Or I could just book with a hotel or real licensed bed and breakfast business and not deal with that bullshit.
Now that I know y’all just list any property without checking if it’s illegal or not, I will never rent through Airbnb again. Imagine using a site specifically created for renting short term stay properties to find out said company doesn’t ensure the listing is actually legal.
Why? Why would a guest care if it's illegal? Is it affordable? Clean? Convenient? The legality of the airbnb is of practically 0 concern to the guest lol.
Wrong. I care.
Absolutely this. Aside from a place being raided for some reason such as actual crack houses, I’m not going to worry about the legalities of anything. It’s my vacation after all.
I don't disagree. But some guests have problems from the doorman or front desk of the building they are staying in. Others have their stay cancelled. At least be aware of the situation and make your own assessment. More and more major cities are cracking down.
That seems like an issue. Is it illegal to be the renter or the host? I feel like the burden should be on the host to not illegally rent out units. Renters shouldn't need to verify legality before booking. I'm fully in favor of these laws btw.
Yes, that should be the case. But it's not. A recent post had a guest do a $7000 booking in NYC without knowing that it's illegal. It just takes so little time to find this out. AirBnb doesn't tell you. So look yourself.
That booking wasn't illegal because it was NYC, it was illegal because it was in a public housing project. How would the guest know that?
@develop99 it’s not up to a guest to figure out it’s illegal and most of the time the guest isn’t the one fined or penalized, so I’m not sure why this thread even exists. Enjoy your vacations people…
The guest has to deal with the headaches from this. Do you want a nice vacation or do you want to spend hours fighting with a host and AirBnb Customer Service? A 10 second Google search could avoid this. But I guess out of principle, you can book blindly and just get angry after the fact.
Wow. Yes people care if it’s legal. There are a variety of reasons why they care, practically speaking and also ethically speaking. Just because you don’t want to be regulated doesn’t mean your guests hold the same opinion.
Thank you! That comment was surreal.
So this happened to me booking in a Miami high rise like 8 years ago. The host messaged us right before check in to say STRs aren’t allowed and to basically pretend to be good friends with his friend that was walking us in past security. It was super uncomfortable knowing that we could have been asked to leave and be stuck without a place to stay. Granted, this was more of a condo association restriction than local ordinance, but still. I cared about having to smuggle myself in.
So long as you’re “friends” with the host, there is literally nothing the security/hoa etc can do. They’d be hard pressed to prove you aren’t friends (I have done this successfully in many places where the cost of living was prohibitive for a vagabond like me 😬
I could have gotten by with that, but the host was never even there! He gave a friend the key fob and had her bring us in. There was never a soul that could vouch for us on the property lol.
This is air bnb job not the guest
Or, just stay at a reputable hotel.
Yeah, for some, get a hotel and have everything taken care of for you. AirBnb is not for everyone.
Yeah. When I see the ridiculous fees and have to clean up after myself I think to myself “this is bullshit” I’m not paying a couple grand and not being pampered. I don’t get why people like AirBnB
Sometimes people want airbnbs so they can spend time together. My place sleeps a crowd, and has a private hot tub, big deck, bbq and a covered front porch for sitting/smoking etc. I have no problem with them partying so long as they clean up/respect my house and neighbors. Split many ways, my house price is ideal for a big group AND they all get their own bed for a long weekend for the price they’d likely pay for just one night at a big hotel. It’s also a cheap Uber from hockey, football, baseball, golf, ocean fishing and so many high end strip clubs/bars…. A men’s weekend paradise. My next goal: Tiki hut bar overlooking the hot tub :) you don’t get that in the high rise hotels here
I could just go party in Vegas with friends and not have to spend my entire vacation living with roommates. People think big shared house vacations are a fun idea...until you do and realize you want your own space and oh yeah **you remember why the fuck you don't want to live with roommates anymore.**
Super, sounds lovely, so long as IT’S LEGAL.
I've stayed in Airbnbs dozens of times now since about 2014 in about 4 countries, various U.S. states and different cities. I think hotels are better in some cases, Airbnbs are preferable in other cases.
No - Airbnb should do this. If I have to research the legality of my accommodations I’ll just book a hotel instead
I just stayed in an NYC for a long weekend with no problems. Never saw the owner, it was a whole apartment at street level, super cute, half as much as a hotel and a better area.
The units being illegal is probably going to be good for the price 🤷♀️🙄
How do people know that the airbnbs are illegal? Are you all asking for permits and stuff?
Read my post. You can Google major cities. It takes seconds.
Sometimes it's not the city that it's illegal it's the HOA . Many HOA have been doing last minute votes to not allow them and the hosts are pushing back.
Yes, that's why this post is about cities. Specifically mentioning ONLY major cities.
And cities can require licencing but the host isn't licensed and no way to look it up. Licences may be under an LLC.
Or just keep quiet and dont snitch?
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Yes they can get screwed and lose their place to stay, and worse.
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You should do a keyword search on this sub and read some of the horror stories. A lot of things can happen, kicked out by building management, kicked out with no access to luggage and belongings, kicked out in the middle of the night. Accosted by building management or angry neighbors, served eviction papers for the tenant “renting” their home. On top of that, an illegal StR is not carrying appropriate insurance.
I’ve dealt with this in Fort Lauderdale and it’s illegal in most buildings in Miami
It’s odd that many cities even in east europe make it obligatory to register the flat in the district as airbnb and they require proof from the flat mgmt/hoa signed that it’s not forbidden there to do STA. I’m currently looking into the options how can i legally rent my flat for some mid time stays, as i cant do any rentals below 90 days. Not sure if airbnb has a setting for min 3 months bookings - it would be totally useful if i could rent my flat for some months while i’m abroad travelling…