9th Circuit Upholds Santa Monica Airbnb Ordinance

This week the 9th Circuit unanimously upheld the city of Santa Monica’s Home Sharing Ordinance against a legal challenge from Airbnb and HomeAway. HomeAway.com, Inc. v. City of Santa Monica, No. 18-55367 (9th Cir. Mar. 13, 2019). For those unfamiliar with Santa Monica, California, as explained succinctly in the opening sentences of the 9th Circuit’s…

Federal Court Upholds Santa Monica’s Airbnb Ordinance

In 2015, the City of Santa Monica adopted an ordinance that prohibited rentals of residential property for thirty (30) days or less unless the owner had a business license and remained on the property during the rental. The Ordinance also prohibited “Housing Platforms” like Airbnb and HomeAway from “advertis[ing]” or “facilitat[ing]” rentals that violated the…

Study of Airbnb Shows Reduced Rental, Increased Costs to NYC Renters

One of the ongoing debates about disruptors, from Uber to Airbnb, is the degree to which they are a new service or simply an existing service repackaged to escape regulation. A McGill University study of Airbnb rentals in New York City comes down strongly in the latter category. The study, The High Cost of Short-Term Rentals in New…