LCCR Urges HUD To Investigate Airbnb For Fair Housing Violations

In a letter issued today, the Lawyers’ Committee calls upon the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to take immediate investigatory and enforcement action to ensure that Airbnb and its hosts fully comply with civil rights laws.  In our letter, we cite recent evidence that Airbnb renters with distinctively African-American names are approximately 16% less likely to be accepted by Airbnb hosts than renters with distinctively White names.  Scores of Airbnb users from communities of color have come forward to tell their individual stories of discrimination at #airbnbwhileblack.

Our letter urges HUD, as the federal agency charged with enforcing fair housing laws, to adopt a forward-looking approach to this emerging issue of rental discrimination. Technology can help minimize discrimination in the marketplace — but only if businesses and federal agencies take the necessary steps to ensure equal opportunity in the “sharing economy.”