The Los Angeles city attorney’s office has initiated a lawsuit against Airbnb, alleging that the home-sharing platform facilitated price gouging and hosted unverified landlords at over 2,000 rental properties following a devastating firestorm in Altadena and Pacific Palisades in January.
City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto’s office claims that Airbnb enabled illegal rental price increases and permitted inaccurate information regarding hosts and properties on its site.
The lawsuit demands a permanent injunction to prevent Airbnb from raising prices during the current state of emergency, in addition to seeking repayment for consumers who allegedly paid inflated rates.
Feldstein Soto emphasized that, while Airbnb made attempts to address price gouging, evidence suggests that these illegal hikes may still be occurring.
“Airbnb is aware that its verification processes are inadequate, potentially luring prospective tenants into a false sense of security about its hosts and locations,” she stated in the announcement of the civil enforcement action.
In response, Airbnb contested these allegations. An Airbnb spokesperson argued that the platform has actively supported victims of the wildfires, contributing nearly $30 million to recovery efforts in Los Angeles and providing free emergency housing to almost 24,000 individuals displaced by the fires.
“Since the wildfires broke out, Airbnb … has made significant contributions to fire recovery efforts in Los Angeles,” the spokesperson told The Times.
The lawsuit includes provisions for imposing fines of $2,500 for each instance of alleged price gouging in Los Angeles, which could reach a collective penalty of up to $7.5 million when considering the 2,000 to 3,000 identified properties.
Moreover, the complaint asserts that Airbnb’s verification processes are
image source from：latimes
