Airbnb has again found itself in the middle of controversy, as for the first time, the Los Angeles city attorney’s office has filed criminal charges alleging that a building’s owners rented units on Airbnb after evicting tenants. The complaint claims that the owners evicted tenants under the Ellis Act, which allows landlords to stop renting. The law requires landlords to notify tenants if they intend to rent again within five years. This is just the latest hurdle Airbnb has faced—recently, the homesharing company has been plagued with reports of discrimination against black Airbnb guests. In response to the widely unregulated service, mayors around the globe have teamed up to strategize the best ways to handle the sharing economy. Ten markets, including New York, Paris, Toronto, and Barcelona, have joined forces to present a unified rule book for Airbnb and Uber. Read more here.
