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    JujyMonkey: Clever tagline goes hereAnna Merlan
    5/19/16 11:30am

    I don’t get the appeal of staying in a stranger’s house. Why is this better than a hotel?

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      QuintJujyMonkey: Clever tagline goes here
      5/19/16 11:32am

      cheaper.

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      smithkidJujyMonkey: Clever tagline goes here
      5/19/16 11:33am

      I don’t get the appeal of letting strangers stay in your home. You know that they are snooping through everything.

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    jonathannumbertwoAnna Merlan
    5/19/16 11:19am

    Is anything EASIER for us because we’re black? Besides getting arrested?

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      SheeshTheseNamesjonathannumbertwo
      5/19/16 11:30am

      We age super well. There’s that. Oh, and we’re like, naturally cool and creative, as evidenced by most of American culture being based off of stuff we make up. Every type of American music style, for instance.

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      Adebisi's hatjonathannumbertwo
      5/19/16 11:36am

      Still looking for that silver lining myself

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    AgainoncemoreAnna Merlan
    5/19/16 11:32am

    I’m trying to have an opinion on this but I’m so completely skeeved out by the idea of having a stranger stay in my home lair that I can’t even think beyond that.

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      DayWalkingGingerAgainoncemore
      5/19/16 11:36am

      “having a stranger stay in my home lair”

      I appreciate the hell outta you right now!

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      bmonkeeAgainoncemore
      5/19/16 11:39am

      Most air bnb properties aren’t actually someone’s home. They’re furnished apartments that are only rented out for short stays through air bnb. A lot of them are furnished REALLY nicely, so they’re far better than hotels.

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    yvanehtniojAnna Merlan
    5/19/16 11:19am

    If I dig deep into the recesses of my Property Law memories, I recall that racial discrimination in housing is actually allowed when you’re renting in your own house or anything smaller than a 4-plex (if the owner also lives there). This was the Murphy exception? Any landlord-tenant lawyers want to correct me on this? If I’m right maybe this lawsuit and the “sharing economy” will finally get that challenged/changed.

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      yvanehtniojyvanehtnioj
      5/19/16 11:22am

      Okay, it’s actually called the Mrs. Murphy Exemption. Very interested to see if AirBnB rentals fall under it.

      As discussed in this space in past posts, our federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) contains a handful of exceptions, the most famous of which is the “Mrs. Murphy Exemption.” This provision in the law provides that a home is exempt from the FHA if the dwelling has four or fewer rental units and the owner lives in one of those units. The exemption is based upon the hypothetical elderly widow, Mrs. Murphy, who would like to rent part of her home and who may desire to specifically pick out her tenants.

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      Hobbylobbyistyvanehtnioj
      5/19/16 11:24am

      Mrs. Murphy sounds like a racist bitch.

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    SipowitzAnna Merlan
    5/19/16 11:19am

    Man, and I felt bad for telling people with kids who responded to my roommate wanted ad that the place had been filled.

    But, honestly, who would even want to go to Philly?

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      RoboBorealisSipowitz
      5/19/16 11:23am

      Plz comment in english

      -Pat’s (or Gino’s)

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      ledariaSipowitz
      5/19/16 11:29am

      Meh. You wanted one roommate not several.

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    deerlady83Anna Merlan
    5/19/16 11:33am

    The more I learn about Airbnb, the more I know I wouldn’t want to use it. I’m weird because I like hotels and don’t like staying in other’s houses.

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      irritablevoweldeerlady83
      5/19/16 11:41am

      I live in a 13-unit condo building, where Airbnb is not allowed under the HOA rules, which I’m happy about, because I don’t want random strangers a) in our common areas and b) to have access to our building keys and keypad codes. A few weeks ago I discovered that one of the condos that’s currently renter-occupied was listed on Airbnb; evidently the condo owner didn’t tell her renters about our HOA rules. I talked with them and they took down their listing, but I felt kinda bad for being the party pooper. Honestly, after reading this article I feel way more justified, knowing how insanely easy it apparently is to make fake profiles! D: No thank you!

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      Ken Yadiggit, Sponsored by Wine™deerlady83
      5/19/16 11:48am

      AirBNB was a godsend staying in Europe, CHEAAAP and the places we stayed at her were just empty apartments people owned and rented out. So it’s not like we were living in their HOUSE-house. Very cute, clean, nice places right in the heart of residential areas so we found the best places to shop and eat that were away from the regular tourist traps.

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    FIGJAMAnna Merlan
    5/19/16 12:23pm

    So, let me edge out onto this limb for a second and hope it doesn’t break: If you have been renting out on airbnb for a few years, to anyone, and have historically had issues with damage or theft from certain age groups, or certain races, or certain genders, can’t you choose to NOT rent to them?

    For that matter, in this new generation of apps that make it easier to date, share homes, share rides, etc. is it allowed to be racist? Can I cancel an Uber because I see the driver is black? If I swipe left all the asian women on Tinder is that bad? If I don’t want to rent from any Indian home owners on AirBnB is that wrong?

    Just playing devil’s advocate here. It seems like there’s a slippery slope with these apps.

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      iElvis is Now Funded by Peter ThielFIGJAM
      5/19/16 12:46pm

      Doing business with people is when you start getting out on that limb. Despite with the libertarians like to bleat about, you simply don’t have the right to conduct business in any way you choose. Whether federal housing regulations apply to airbnb is an unanswered question, but if it does, it’s settled law that you can’t apply bad experiences with renters of a certain race or gender to all members of that group, no matter what happened.

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      FIGJAMiElvis is Now Funded by Peter Thiel
      5/19/16 12:52pm

      Understood, but the customer can choose who they want to do business with, while the seller cannot?

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    Bridget101283Anna Merlan
    5/19/16 11:29am

    I guess the lawsuit is based more on AirBNB lack of response on the issue more than what the law says. I doubt people are protected under federal housing laws as it's completely unregulated.

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      DaisyLadyBridget101283
      5/19/16 11:58am

      I also think it may be related to AirBnB not honoring their own policy which specifically prohibits discrimination. In the face of clear evidence from many, many customers they’ve pretty much done nothing except hire someone who’s “going to look into it.”

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      qwintsBridget101283
      5/19/16 12:18pm

      Nope. It’s a basic Title II and FHA claim under the theory that Airbnb is a “inn, hotel, motel or other establishment which provides lodging to transient guests” (paragraph 25 of the complaint) and that Airbnb host was an “agent, representative or employee.” (Paragraph 10 of the complaint).

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    qwintsAnna Merlan
    5/19/16 11:37am

    I did fair housing testing, and it was a real eye-opener. I hadn’t realized just how much blatant discrimination still existed. I had expected the discrimination to be apartment managers to be unfriendly or discouraging, I hadn’t expected people to straight up tell one person there were no open apartments and tell me there was an open apartment thirty minutes later.

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      Petty Bettyqwints
      5/19/16 1:41pm

      This has happened to me before and even though I knew deep down it was due to racism, I never discussed it with anyone because I didn’t think anyone would believe me at the time.

      I called to see if an apartment was available to rent and set a time to come and view it. As soon as I arrived, the leasing manager told me they had no vacancies before I could even tell her I had made an appointment. I tried to explain that I had called earlier and she said that she was mistaken there were no units available. As I was leaving, I asked a security guard on the property if he knew whether there were any available units and he told me yes. I told him what I was told by the leasing manager and he looked uncomfortable but he said he knew they had available units.

      I walked back out to my car and called the office again and the same women told me that yes, they had units available to rent. I was hurt and beyond pissed because this was a beautiful property close to my job and in a really nice area. I didn’t press the issue because even if I could somehow get in, I didn’t want to live where I wasn’t wanted.

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      Rooo sez BISH PLZqwints
      5/19/16 2:04pm

      Why not?

      Were you thinking racism was “over”...?

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    OtherKate8Anna Merlan
    5/19/16 11:39am

    Ugh, this is crap. Not that it’s remotely comparable, because I’m white, but I live in SW Europe and I’m from the U.S., and my name is obviously foreign. My spouse and I are looking to buy an apartment, and I’ve kinda felt like we might be getting ignored or brushed off by real estate agents because I am usually the one to set up appointments, usually by e-mail. So I set up a fake gmail account with a local-sounding name to inquire about a place that I was told, under my own name, was under negotiation and not open for visitors. So I got a message in my fake-name address saying the place was still available...not as clear-cut as what the people in this article are experiencing, but it’s bruising.

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