Detroit Bans Airbnb With Rule Against 'Paid Overnight Guests'

DETROIT, MI – Residents who rent out rooms via the Airbnb were warned this week to stop offering their properties via the online service or face fines. A new ordinance, enacted by the city in 2017, went into effect this week.

The ordinance reads, in part, “Use of a dwelling to accommodate paid overnight guests is prohibited as a home occupation; notwithstanding this regulation, public accommodations, including bed and breakfast inns outside the R1 and R2 Districts.” R1 and R2 are designations given to large apartments and lofts, so any host who lives in a dwelling that doesn't meet those criteria is in violation of the new ordinance.

The law contradicts Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan’s past support for the home-share service, which allows people to list rooms or whole homes or apartments for short-term rental online. In 2017, the mayor appeared in a video touting the service as a way for people not just to make extra income, but to stay in homes they've owned for decades.

"In Detroit, we have a lot of beautiful old homes where people have lived in them for 30 or 40 years, and maybe they'd have trouble keeping up with payments or taxes," Duggan says in the video, adding that ArBnB can help people "stay in their homes."

Quicken Loans also has partnered with the site, making the mortgage lender’s hometown’s rejection all the more ironic. AirBnB listed 430 "hosts" or rental providers in Detroit in 2017. The site says 47,000 visitors used AirBnB accommodations in the Motor City last year, putting $5.2 million into the local economy and offering hosts about $6,000 a year in extra income.

Airbnb released a statement calling the move a blow to middle class city residents.

"We’re very disappointed by this turn of events. Airbnb has served as an economic engine for middle class Detroiters, many of whom rely on the supplemental income to stay in their homes," read the statement. "We hope that the city listens to our host community and permits home sharing in these residential zones."

File photo by Carl Court / Getty Images Staff