Airbnb sues New Orleans after it adopts sweeping regulations governing short-term rentals

NEW ORLEANS (news agencies) — Airbnb is suing the City of New Orleans for requiring the company and short-term rental platforms ensure properties they market are in compliance with city laws.

“What we’re looking at now due to Airbnb’s lawsuit is that they do not want to be regulated,” City Council President J.P. Morrell said in a late afternoon Tuesday statement.

Airbnb said its lawsuit comes “after exhausting all available paths toward sensible solutions.”

For years, New Orleans leaders have struggled with how to manage the influx of illegal short-term rentals catering to the millions of visitors who flock to The Big Easy annually while managing a lack of affordable housing.

A federal court struck down a 2019 New Orleans policy barring short-term rentals at properties owned by out-of-state residents. The city responded by adopting new regulations in 2023 mandating Airbnb owners live on site and limiting short-term rentals to one per block, but enforcing these rules proved difficult and illegal properties were easily able to resurface on Airbnb, city leaders say. A federal appeals court is currently reviewing these policies.

Last year, the city council adopted regulations set to go into effect in June requiring Airbnb and other companies verify that all New Orleans properties listed on their platform have permits from the city. Morrell called the policy a “game-changer” that would “gut the ability to illegally list fake permits and Airbnbs.”

Airbnb said it should not be tasked with implementing the city’s policies. The company has pushed back against other cities’ efforts to regulate it, including suing New York and San Francisco.

In its lawsuit filed in federal court last week, Airbnb said it has no responsibility for the actions of its hosts, citing the same law that protects social media companies from liability for users’ posts. And the company denied that it had any obligation to verify listings were in compliance with city regulations, which it described as a “highly punitive enforcement regime.”