Airbnb’s Latest Chapter in New Orleans
Are you as tired of hearing about Airbnb as we are of trying to prevent the corporation from taking over our city? We wish we could put this issue to bed, and the thing is: We could. As we have written about for years, the option of a total citywide ban on short-term rentals remains available to our City policy makers, and recent developments on the Airbnb front emphasize just how needed such a total ban is. Let’s talk about it.
Where Can STRs Exist and How Many Are Allowed?
- In residentially zoned areas, there is a maximum allowance of one STR per square block, and that one STR must have a permit. These permits are called “NSTR” permits, because they are non-commercial.
- From 2023 to late 2024, an additional two STR permits per square block could be awarded via an opaque “exception” process subject to Council vote. New exception applications for NSTRs are no longer allowed as of late 2024, but those properties previously granted NSTR permits as exceptions get to keep said permits.
- In areas zoned as commercial or mixed use, a different license type specific to commercial short-term rentals, the CSTR permit, is used. As of June 2023, no new CSTR permits can be issued by the STR office.
- Notably, all City zoning rules are subject to appeal, which includes the ban on new CSTRs. As recently as this summer, City Council voted to approve such an appeal at 1201 Canal Street to convert 58 of the building’s units into STRs. That vote then saw 40 families living there threatened with displacement until a wave of public outcry got the Council to revert their decision and the property owner to withdraw their STR application.
- Also notably, prior to June 2023, there were no geographic density considerations or restrictions for CSTR permit issuance, only lot-based ones. On a given lot of land, CSTRs could make up 1 residential unit on the lot, or 25% of the units on the lot, whichever was greater. Accordingly, nothing prevented the creation of STR-dense or STR-only blocks full of adjacent STR-filled lots, such as those at the Brown’s Dairy site, where unfinished plans for an affordable housing development in Central City instead became over two dozen CSTRs.
- Some neighborhoods are not subject to the same STR nightmare as other neighborhoods—notably, both the French Quarter and the Garden District successfully won prohibitions on the issuance of STR permits in most parts of their neighborhoods.
What Do STR Owners, Operators, and Platforms Have To Do?
On paper, there are many obligations for STR owners and operators, and many situations where failure to comply with those obligations can or must result in the revocation of an STR license. Owners and operators are to ensure that City permits are displayed properly, that the property is listed legally, that operators are on site and readily able to respond to the concerns of STR guests or neighbors, and that the property complies with occupancy caps, fire safety, noise ordinances, and so on.
However, as anyone who has tried to report a non-compliant STR will tell you, enforcement is lacking. Even when residents submit documented proof that STRs in their neighborhood are violating any number of these requirements, it is rare to see cases taken up for adjudication, and it is extremely rare to see an STR permit revoked.
As of this year, STR platforms themselves (sites like Airbnb, VRBO, etc.) are also required to ensure that the STR listings on their site are legally permitted.
Where Does the City Stand Regarding Enforcement?
On September 8, the Eastern District of Louisiana Court upheld current City STR regulations when it dismissed a February 2025 suit brought by Airbnb and homeowners that had claimed the City’s new rules—namely those requiring platforms themselves to ensure the legality of their listings—were unconstitutional. The presiding judge confirmed that it is well within the City’s rights to impose such rules and that there is no fundamental right for any owner to conduct short-term renting at their property.
Since this ruling, Airbnb has stated its intent to file an appeal in the Fifth Circuit—our hope is that the appeal is not entertained by the courts. In parallel, hosts whose properties have been delisted from Airbnb have quickly moved their listing to other platforms, such as PadSplit, Historic Getaways, and Booking.com. Several unpermitted STR properties are advertised on these sites as “monthly” rentals in an attempt to avoid the specifics of the City’s STR rules (which apply to rentals of less than 30 days), but these sites allow visitors to book such properties for as little as one night, meaning that they are still short-term rentals.
What’s the Solution?
As we have said for years: Implement a total ban on short-term rentals. The City has proven it cannot manage or enforce its own rules for STRs, and previous decisions about permitting that paid no attention to geographic density have cratered out many of our historic neighborhoods. For instance, one corner in the Bywater, at Bartholomew and Burgundy, is shown in the City’s own STR registry to have permitted occupancy for 180 STR guests on any given night just on the blocks touching that intersection alone, on what are otherwise quiet residential blocks.
Notably, two of the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods have won near-total bans against STRs in the interest of preserving their neighborhood character. If you hear yourself, your neighbors, or City policy makers defending these bans but not supporting such bans citywide, ask: What neighborhood character is worth preserving in the French Quarter and Garden District that is somehow not worth preserving in Treme, Central City, or Bywater? And why?
To get involved with and stay informed about housing justice efforts in the city, including those to address the STR takeover of New Orleans, join us at these events:
- Renters’ Rights for Service Industry Workers workshop
Tuesday, October 14: 6-8 p.m.
St. Roch Community Church
1738 St. Roch Avenue
- Conozca sus Derechos
Know Your Rights, Know Your Power workshop
*Presented in Spanish*
Saturday, October 18: 2-4 p.m.
Jane Place Offices in Mid-City
200 S. Broad Street, Suite 204
- Know Your Rights, Know Your Power workshop
Wednesday, October 29: 6 p.m.
New Orleans LGBTQ Center
2762 Orleans Avenue
This space is provided to Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability Initiative as a community service and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or editorial policies of ANTIGRAVITY.
