Is Class Action Suit Against Airbnb in Nevada a Model for Us in California?

Another “We’re Just a Platform” Excuse

By Trudy Grundland

Here’s my take on the story about the class action filed against Airbnb in Nevada, June 2024, in Giller v. Airbnb, Inc. using the Nevada Deceptive Trade Practices Act. There must be someone in California who wants to do the same.

Nevada state and local laws require Airbnb to investigate its new host applicants to confirm the person is authorized to rent the property on a short-term basis. Airbnb is aware that a person may be in violation of a lease homeowner or condo association rules, and city zoning laws that restrict short-term rentals. These conditions would make the property ineligible for a city business license number, a Las Vegas Municipal Code mandate for every short-term rental listing in the city, but there are “hosts” willing to skirt the law and use fake license numbers.

This happened in Las Vegas to the owner of a single-family home in Las Vegas. The woman rented out her home on a long-term basis of no less than a one-year period with prohibitions on sub-leasing and short-term rentals.

A young woman rented the home in 2021 and renewed the lease in June 2022 and May 2023. The homeowner/landlord went to the home in November 2023 to do routine yardwork and observed “four strangers entering and leaving the house freely via the use of the security punch code on the front door.”

The homeowner found her home listed for short-term rental on Airbnb, with the renter shown as a “Superhost” and notified Airbnb, but the platform “refused to take any action” and continued to allow the renter to list the property on the website.

The class action lawsuit against Airbnb looks to cover all individuals in Nevada who currently or previously owned property from June 10, 2020 to present, that was rented out by an Airbnb host, when the host was prohibited from renting out the property on a short-term basis.

Clark County Code of Ordinances requires the facilitators of short-term rentals, such as Airbnb, to verify the short-term rental unit has been issued a short-term rental license, and that the platform must “Deactivate all listings which lack a valid state or county business license number, or which the department otherwise requests the licensee remove, within five business days of receipt of the request.” CLARK COUNTY, NEV., CODE OF ORDINANCES § 7.110.080(c).

Despite being well aware that many Hosts on www.airbnb.com are not authorized to rent out property on a short-term basis, Airbnb nevertheless enables and facilitates these Hosts to post their illegal Listings on its platform; facilitates the advertising of, and advertises, these illegal Listings to potential Airbnb Guests; and facilitates the short-term rental of the subject properties, in defiance of legal and/or contractual prohibitions on such short-term rentals.

The plaintiff’s complaint is that Airbnb willingly obtained revenue from a property that violated Nevada short-term rental laws by not performing their required due diligence in vetting a new host and then knowingly allowed the host to continue to rent on the Airbnb platform without the consent of the owner. The plaintiff seeks a jury trial and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000.

Another example of Airbnb’s ruthless quest for money. Their famous mantra: “We can’t be held accountable for the actions of our hosts and guests. Section 230 of Title 47 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which is Title V of the Telecommunications Act of 1966.”