Strata files class-action lawsuit against Airbnb

VANCOUVER — A downtown Vancouver strata corporation has filed a class-action lawsuit against Airbnb, the online property rental business.

The strata, in the city’s Yaletown neighbourhood, claims that Airbnb has rented out properties throughout B.C. and Canada without the consent of the rightful owners and has profited from the unauthorized rentals without any compensation to those owners.

Polina Furtula, a lawyer representing the strata, said Thursday that the lawsuit is not being filed merely on behalf of strata corporations.

“There’s other owners of apartments or houses or real estate who have not authorized the rental of their property, the short-term rental,” said Furtula, who also sits on the Yaletown strata’s council. “And they’re finding their properties are being listed on Airbnb without their consent.”

The suit claims that the rentals by Airbnb violate strata bylaws that prevent rentals for less than a year, except with approval of the strata.

In some cases the rentals are being listed by people who are renting or leasing an apartment and don’t inform the owners that they’re listing the suites at Airbnb, Furtula said.

“Sometimes it’s even people who manage to get a key and they’re not even the tenants,” she said. “There’s people renting out their residential apartments on a shortterm basis and basically using the building as a hotel. That has consequences to the other owners, to the strata corporations.”

Furtula said it is difficult to detect the problem because of the way Airbnb has structured its business model and listings.

“It’s very easy to list the property without disclosing the correct location.”

The suit is seeking a court order to be certified as a class-action proceeding and an injunction requiring the defendants to cease advertising rentals of properties located in B.C. and Canada without the consent of the legal owners, including the strata corporations.

It also seeks an accounting of income received by Airbnb regarding the alleged unauthorized rentals as well as unspecified general, special and punitive damages.

No response has been filed to the lawsuit, which contains allegations that have not been tested in court.