Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration is suing Airbnb and one of its most-active Chicago hosts, alleging they broke and evaded city laws regulating short-term rentals.
The city’s lawsuit, filed Monday, alleges host Slumber Stay LLC failed to register its units with the city and used a non-transferable hotel license across numerous properties — then continued to illegally rent units even after it paid fines and admitted to misconduct.
Airbnb backed up the law-breaking host by processing bookings for unregistered, unlicensed units, the lawsuit alleges.
Johnson painted the allegedly illegal short-term rentals as a threat to affordable housing in a Tuesday statement.
“At a time when affordability remains front of mind, our administration will continue to prioritize the needs of our residents, stability within our neighborhoods, and responsible business practices,” he wrote.
A spokesperson for Airbnb did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Milan Rubenstein, a real estate broker and investor named in the lawsuit as Slumber Stay’s manager, also did not immediately respond.
Johnson’s lawsuit said Rubenstein is one of many Airbnb hosts who have violated a city ordinance prohibiting short-term rentals in some neighborhoods and restricting the number of short-term rentals in individual buildings.
In the last two years, the city has cited Slumber Stay nearly 200 times for violating city rules, according to the lawsuit.
Aldermen passed a sweeping update to the ordinance regulating short-term rentals last year that included requirements that hosts and the company register, license and share data for rented units.
“When a licensee chooses to operate outside of City law, it undermines that community of responsible businesses and the consumers who depend on it,” said Ivan Capifali, commissioner of the city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection. “This action levels the playing field by holding everyone to the same standard, including the larger platforms profiting from short-term rentals.”
