Airbnb Hosts Won’t Face Penalties in Boston During Lawsuit

Boston won’t fine or ban Airbnb hosts for not complying with new short-term rental rules while a lawsuit against the city progresses.

The company sued the city in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, claiming Boston’s new rules for regulating and taxing short-term rentals are an unconstitutional infringement on the company’s free speech.

Boston, in a joint stipulation adopted Nov. 19, agreed to refrain from issuing fines and bans while the lawsuit is pending. The city also won’t require the company to share its host data.

The city’s short-term rental ordinance requires the company to collect and remit the state’s 5.7 percent room occupancy tax on rentals in Boston. However, Airbnb and the city still have to hammer out an agreement for the company to collect the tax. Individual hosts can collect and remit the tax themselves starting Jan. 1, according to an Airbnb spokeswoman.

The Nov. 13 lawsuit claims the city’s ordinance is unconstitutional when it attempts to “conscript” home-sharing platforms like Airbnb into monitoring and policing posts on its website. Airbnb also objects to sharing confidential information about its users with the city.

The city didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

Boston’s response to the company’s complaint is due Jan. 15. The court will schedule a hearing after Feb. 12, when Airbnb’s response is due.

The case is Airbnb Inc. v. Boston, D. Mass., 1:18-cv-12358, joint stipulation approved 11/19/18.