The Los Angeles City Prosecutor’s Office filed a complaint against Airbnb, accusing the house sharing platform of having authorized prices and notes not verified in more than 2,000 rentals following the Firestorm storm in January in Altadena and Pacific Palisades.
In a press release, City Atty. The Hydee Feldstein Soto office accused Airbnb of having authorized illegal rental price increases and allowing the hosts and false and non-existent addresses on the platform. The trial requests a permanent prescription to prevent Airbnb from increasing prices during the existing state of emergency, as well as the reimbursement of consumers who were billed from higher rates.
“Although Airbnb subsequently took measures to reduce prices prices, the evidence indicates that the illegal gougeage on the site continues and can be underway,” said Feldstein Soto in a statement announcing the measure of the application of civil law. “Airbnb is aware that its verification processes are inadequate … which have potentially attracted potential tenants in a false feeling of security on its hosts and locations.”
Airbnb challenged the accusations of the trial, saying that the platform played a coherent role in the support of victims with financial aid following forest fires.
“Since forest fires broke out, Airbnb … has contributed nearly $ 30 million to recovery efforts in Los Angeles, including free emergency housing to nearly 24,000 people affected by fires,” an Airbnb spokesperson for Times told Times. “We will continue to support the city of Los Angeles in its efforts to recover and reconstruction.”
The trial requires fines of $ 2,500 for each example of alleged prices in Los Angeles, which could reach between 2,000 and 3,000 properties, up to $ 7.5 million in total penalties.
The trial also alleges that the “inadequate” verification processes of Airbnb have left users vulnerable to offenses such as identity theft, theft, sexual assault, invasion of privacy and voyeurism. Airbnb did not respond to a Times investigation concerning these complaints.
The unusual and “non-existent” hosts alleged in the trial refer to cases of hosts using false names to represent themselves on the platform.
According to the trial, cases include a profile under the name of “Amber Hiller” who actually belonged to a woman named Akila Nourollah, and a host named “Greg”, verified using someone named Guven Sacikarali, a parent of the real account controller, Ali Sacikaral.
Although this is not the correct name of account owners, Airbnb allows you to use “favorite names” in its Terms and conditions.
The trial also mentions several cases in which the locations verified on Airbnb have in fact been located up to four miles from the announced address.
If the pricing gougage complaints are determined as true, the trial claims that IIRBNB can be noted for having violated the law on unfair competition of the State, article 396 of the California penal code, the anti-graging law and January 16 on January 16 emergency Declaration by Governor Gavin Newsom, who stipulates that it would be illegal for Airbnb to increase the price of rentals by more than 10% during the state of emergency.
The fire storm that broke out on January 7 finally destroyed more than 16,000 buildings in Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Altadena.
In January, Airbnb published a declaration denouncing the price of prices and promising to make the hosts impossible to increase the prices of their properties by more than 10% of their pre-upfire rates.
“With tens of thousands of people currently displaced in the Los Angeles region and the prospect of this figure that continues to increase, the last thing that we should meet is the price of a hotel room or a house that seeks to take advantage of a desperate situation,” the statement said.
The company is also committed to giving free $ 1,000 for fire victims for Airbnb Stays. On January 28, more than 11,000 vouchers were sent. However, Some fire victims have claimed This strict regulation and a lack of response to applications have made the right ones essentially useless.
While the statement of the state of emergency aimed to prevent the rental price increases during and after the fires, Previous time reports have revealed These prices had continued in ball in certain parts of Los Angeles, leaving those without shelter with few options in addition to the expensive stays.
An Airbnb spokesperson said that the ceiling on the increase in rental prices after fires remained firm, allowing no illegal increase.
The company quoted California Atty. The first statements by General Rob Bonta, who praised Airbnb’s promises to comply with state emergency statements.
“They do the right thing, I thank them for doing it. We hope that other platforms will follow and will do the same,” said Bonta on January 16 press conference.
However, Bonta’s statements were presented before many long -term AirBNB rates were set.