Approximately 300 people have been delisted from Airbnb after a recent audit of the company’s registrations by the City of Toronto. A total of 700 listings in the city were cancelled.
City officials periodically review registrations to eliminate illegal rentals known as “ghost hotels”, but some legitimate hosts are feeling the impact of the audit.
Hosts like Jennifer Trant and Daniel Kaplan have been frustrated by minor discrepancies in their profiles which have led to their delisting and cancellations totalling thousands of dollars in bookings.
City Audit Cracks Down on Legitimate Hosts
The audit aimed to cut down on illegal rentals that are not owner-occupied and are often managed by a company, with some being advertised under fake host profiles.
The city warned hosts in December that their registrations would be audited to ensure they matched the names and addresses as provided by the home-sharing website.
Minor discrepancies were previously tolerated, but in this round of audits, listings of operators who did not comply with the bylaw were removed.
Legitimate Hosts Left Frustrated
Jennifer Trant, who has been registered as part of the city’s regulatory system for years, said a pair of small differences between her profile and the city’s record of her registration resulted in her delisting and the cancellation of $11,000 worth of bookings.
Trant’s apartment was delisted earlier this month, and she only managed to get it back on the platform with the assistance of a city councillor.
Trant said the city didn’t reach out to her about the discrepancies but instead delisted her home from the service, forcing Airbnb to cancel the reservations.
City Council Criticizes Approach to Audits
City councillor Paula Fletcher has criticized the approach of the audits, saying that the city should be targeting people who avoid the registration system altogether, not Torontonians trying to play by the rules.
The city’s regulatory system is crucial to prevent people from cheating the system, said Thorben Wieditz of advocacy group Fairbnb. However, the city needs to work with hosts who are trying to follow the legal framework, not penalize them for clerical errors.
Regulatory Regime Ensures Availability of Rental Units
The regulatory regime ensures that rental units that are desperately needed to help address Toronto’s affordable housing crisis are on the market, Wieditz said. The regulation process is bound to have hiccups, but he cautions against watering down the regulatory regime.
»Airbnb Delists Hundreds of Toronto Hosts after City Audit, Leaving Some Out of Pocket«
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