Posted on 02/06/2017 11:41:38 AM PST by SoFloFreeper
A Midtown-based commercial brokerage filed a lawsuit against Airbnb on Thursday, alleging that the short-term rental listing site is running an illegal brokerage business.
Parker Madison Partners argues that because Airbnb helps people find apartments in return for a fee through its website, it should be registered as a brokerage firm.
“Although Airbnb blatantly acts as a real estate broker, it is neither registered nor licensed with New York State,” the complaint reads, adding that Airbnb “had no right to receive any commissions for its real estate broker services within the State of New York.”
(Excerpt) Read more at therealdeal.com ...
If Airbnb had just kept to doing its job, I wouldn't have cared. But now it has declared war against President Trump.
I hope this lawsuit keeps them busy.
They send me emails from their offices in San Francisco, and want me to bring in the homeless, and the transgenders. These guys see their business as a social engineering process to make us all LOVE gays.
Let’s hope more are filed by realty companies all over. They are stepping on the toes of RE brokers. *grin
Looks like a real estate duck...
<>fee for service - quack quack
<>matches owners with tenants - quack quack
Are the parties involved licensed by the states involved?
This lawsuit is right. I never understood how Airbnb got around the real estate brokerage laws because what they do fits squarely within the regulations. I assumed they had lawyers who found an exception. Perhaps not.
There’s a grass roots movement in our little town against airbnb. First, we’re sending all the listings to the tax assessor’ office to see if any owners have claimed these income producing properties as their homestead, and are receiving tax exemptions.
Agree. Hope they are sued into bankruptcy.
Also Uber and Lyft. They are anti-Trump / anti-borders.
Lot of people to boycott these days!
I figured they woudl spin off a subsidiary “AirWhore” before long
“I assumed they had lawyers who found an exception. Perhaps not.”
They’re following the model set by Uber: flout the laws and try to make enough money quickly enough by doing it to weather any lawsuits and bribe governments to carve out exceptions for them. Being popular enough to get the voters to pester the politicians on your behalf helps too.
Uber had a stronger case, because there aren’t laws regulating companies that hook people up WITH rides. So while the individual drivers have to worry about whether they qualify as taxis, the company itself isn’t a taxi company.
AirBNB clearly is a broker hooking up rental clients with properties for a fee, and since this IS something that has traditionally happened, government has already figured out how to take a cut of it.
Now, why government should stick it’s nose into this or not is another matter. But they have, and AirBNB really should be covered by the existing laws.
The guys from Unbox Therapy booked a house for trip out west and their rooms had round beds and movie type lights ,they film Porn there and now between filming it was time to rent the rooms out . LOL
Vrbo and Homeaway charge these service fees as well.
By that logic Craigslist and every newspaper’s classified section is a brokerage.
Airbnb is more like a dating service than a real estate company. Or an online hotel reservation service.
The people dont wind up buying the property.
“By that logic Craigslist and every newspaper’s classified section is a brokerage.”
Classified ads are paid for whether or not the property is rented. That’s not a brokerage.
Real Estate brokers pay ridiculous fees and taxes to pursue their trade. IMO, they have every right to fight airbnb.
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