Landlord sues Airbnb in spat over subletting

One of the nation’s largest owners and operators of apartment homes is trying to stop Airbnb from listing its units. Apartment Investment & Management Company (Aimco), a property manager that oversees more than 50,000 properties, has filed a lawsuit in both California and Florida to prevent Airbnb from advertising its units as short-term rentals, saying that doing so violates its leases.

“It is not acceptable to us that Airbnb actively promotes and profits from deliberate breaches of our leases, and does so in utter disregard of the disrespectful and unsafe situations created for our full-time residents and their families,” Aimco CEO Terry Considine says.

Many landlords have been wary of Airbnb from the onset. The home-sharing company allows individuals to rent out spaces in their homes to guests.

Aimco officials say they’ve reached out to Airbnb three times to tell the company that listing its units on Airbnb’s platform violated its leases. Aimco says the company continued to maintain its listings.

Airbnb has not released a public comment yet about the pending lawsuit. However, Airbnb spokesperson Nick Papas did say: “This attack on the middle class by powerful interests is wholly without merit.”

Aimco officials argue that Airbnb’s “transient” guests may pose security risks to its residents. Aimco says that its residents must undergo background checks and credit history reviews prior to renting from its company.

“We are asking the courts to compensate Aimco for our losses and to enjoin Airbnb from participation in further illegal activity at our properties so that our law-abiding residents can enjoy a high-quality living experience,” Considine says.

Airbnb has been attempting to mend its relationships with landlords in recent months. In September 2016, Airbnb created a new program called Airbnb Friendly Building Program, which allows landlords to monitor how their tenants are listing and renting their apartments on Airbnb. Building owners can apply for the program and, if accepted, set the terms for renting a unit in their building.

However, the inclusion of landlords could impact tenants hoping to make a little extra money by subletting space, since some landlords will likely take a certain percentage of money earned off subleasing through Airbnb.

Source: Florida Realtors