Court dismisses Paris lawsuit against Airbnb for illegal listings

A court in Paris has dismissed a case against Airbnb, as Le Monde reported. Last month, the City of Paris sued Airbnb for 1,010 illegal listings. According to the mayor’s office, Airbnb failed to comply with regulation in Paris.

Paris has been trying to limit the effect of Airbnb on the housing market in Paris. Paris is one of the top cities for Airbnb in the world. A few years ago, many people stopped renting their apartments the traditional way in favor of Airbnb. The average rental price in some areas of Paris has increased as a result.

Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo didn’t want to ban Airbnb altogether. Instead, the city asked hosts to get an ID number so the city can track how many nights someone is listing their apartment on Airbnb. You can’t rent an apartment more than 120 days a year.

But many listings still don’t have that ID number. The mayor’s office flagged around 1,000 apartments, saying that Airbnb was also responsible by dragging their feet.

But the court has said that screenshots are not enough to prove that these apartments without an ID number are permanently available on Airbnb. Maybe some of these apartments are available for less than 120 days a year, after all.

The case is not over, as this is just a summary judgement. But it sounds like the case is not strong enough to condemn Airbnb.

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