Overview
- The City of Chicago filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Cook County on June 23, 2026, naming Airbnb, Airbnb Living LLC, Slumber Stay LLC and manager Milan Rubenstein for alleged violations of the Shared Housing Ordinance and consumer protection laws.
- Chicago says Slumber Stay received nearly 200 citations in 2024 and 2025 for failing to register units, misusing a non-transferable hotel license number across properties, and continuing to list and rent units the city says were unlawful.
- The complaint alleges Airbnb and its affiliate processed bookings for unregistered or unlicensed units, which the city says helped facilitate illegal rentals and let platform bookings continue despite local rules.
- The city is seeking monetary fines, disgorgement of profits tied to the alleged violations and injunctive relief to stop future unlawful short-term rentals, and the case is now pending in Cook County with no public comment from Airbnb reported.
- Chicago’s Shared Housing Ordinance, passed in 2016 and strengthened in 2020, requires registration, limits rentals in certain buildings and neighborhoods, and aims to prevent residential units from operating as de facto hotels that reduce affordable housing and harm neighborhood stability.