BY KAYLEE POCHE (Published in Gambit "The best of world news"
By a 70-27 vote, the Louisiana House Wednesday overwhelmingly passed a measure giving local governments some teeth to their efforts to force short-term rental platforms to remove illegal listings from their sites — just two days after narrowly shooting it down.
Under House Bill 518 by Rep. Alonzo Knox, a New Orleans Democrat, a city or parish government would contact an STR platform like Airbnb or Vrbo that a listing on their site does not have an active permit. The platform would then have 10 days to take that listing down.
If the platform doesn’t take the listing down by then, the local government could fine them up to $1,500 “per booking transaction that constitutes a violation.”
This could be an important tool for local governments to crack down on illegal STRs. However, local governments would still need the resources to identify illegal listings and contact STR platforms about each one.
In New Orleans, there have been thousands of illegal listings, which far outnumber the legal ones.
Knox also revealed some behind-the-scenes drama from his conversations with STR platforms about the bill, saying he was upset with Airbnb.
He said he told them he’d put his bill on hold, but that Airbnb went behind his back to lobby for “two additional bills to ensure that the locals did not have the authority to do anything that would regulate a short-term rental.”
One of those bills may have been House Bill 591 by Rep. Rodney Lyons, a Marrero Democrat, which would ban local governments from regulating online marketplaces. It has not made it out of committee. Both bills were prefiled March 1.
“We certainly can agree that Airbnb gave a pack of lies that they want to make money off of New Orleans, which is the golden goose that lays their golden egg,” Knox said.
In a statement to Gambit, an Airbnb spokesperson said, “Our goal is to work collaboratively with lawmakers, and although we’re disappointed and don’t agree with Rep. Knox’s recollection of events, we’ll continue to engage with Louisiana leaders on sensible short-term rental rules that balance the benefits of home sharing with the needs of their communities.”
Knox said he worked with Vrbo and Expedia on amendments to the bill.
“They approached me with the notion that they didn't approve of how Airbnb conducted themselves,” he said.
Rep. Mandie Landry, a New Orleans Democrat who worked with Knox on the bill, said STRs were not only a “terrible problem” in New Orleans, but they were also spreading in other parts of the state.
Rep. Kimberly Coates, a Ponchatoula Republican, said she recently had a resident in her district complain about a home in her subdivision being used as a short-term rental.
“They're having these big parties and problems, and those people cannot enjoy their neighborhood,” she said. “The people that are renting the house are speeding through the neighborhood, and there's children at play out in their yards but they cannot enjoy it.”
Read the full article at https://www.nola.com/gambit/news/the_latest/louisiana-house-oks-new-fines-for-platforms-listing-illegal-short-term-rentals
Comentários