In major shift, Airbnb agrees to enforce legal listing limits

New policies in London and Amsterdam could signal more cooperation with cities

Airbnb, for the first time, agreed to enforce limits on how many nights its users can rent out rooms.

The short-term home rental company said it will block users from renting out rooms for more than 90 days in London and 60 days in Amsterdam – the legal limits in the two cities – rather than merely relying on the cities to enforce their rules.

Although the new policy doesn’t apply to New York, it could signal a new willingness by Airbnb to cooperate with cities that have accused it of helping reduce affordable housing supply. It had previously declined to block users from exceeding the legal day limit for listings.

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“This is a way of saying, you can trust people to paint within the lines, because we’re going to help with that,” Patrick Robinson, Airbnb’s head of public policy in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, told the Wall Street Journal.

The company, which was most recently valued at $30 billion, did not say whether it expects the new policy to cut into its earnings.

In New York, the company recently sued City Hall over a law that imposes a $7,500 fine on Airbnb users who violate housing laws. [WSJ] — Konrad Putzier