NYC's Airbnb Disclosure Law Blocked By Federal Judge

NEW YORK — A federal judge on Thursday blocked New York City's disclosure rules for home-sharing platforms from taking effect next month while a lawsuit over them proceeds.

The home-sharing companies Airbnb and HomeAway sued the city in August over a recently signed law requring such services to hand over troves of information about their hosts to the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement, which has cracked down on illegal short-term rentals.

U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer found the companies were likely to succeed on their claim that the law violates the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits illegal searches and seizures. He blocked the measure from taking effect as it was scheduled to on Feb. 2.

The law "puts in place a search and seizure regime that implicates protected privacy interests of the 'booking services' whose user records must be produced monthly to the (Office of Special Enforcement)," Engelmayer wrote in his 52-page opinion.

The next court date in the lawsuit is set for May 10.

Airbnb celebrated the ruling as a "huge win" for the company and its users. The firm fought the law aggressively as it moved through the City Council with support from advocates and the hotel industry.

"The court today recognized the fundamental importance of New Yorkers’ constitutional rights to privacy and the sanctity of their own homes," an Airbnb spokesperson said in a statement.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said he thinks the city will ultimately win the case despite Engelmayer's remark that the home-sharing companies would likely prevail.

"We think it’s a good law," de Blasio said at an unrelated news conference. "This is a law to stop landlords from creating de facto hotels, which is unfair and illegal, which creates real security problems for neighbors."

Airbnb has reportedly settled past lawsuits against San Francisco and New York over other home-sharing regulations. A federal judge ruled against the company in March when it tried to halt enforcement of a home-sharing law in Santa Monica, California.

(Lead image: Airbnb signage on display at WIRED25 Work: Inside San Francisco's Most Innovative Workplaces on Oct. 12, 2018 in San Francisco. Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for WIRED25)