Judge quashes decision forcing City of Vancouver to release Airbnb records
Airbnb has actually filed a petition for judicial review of the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia’s (OIPCBC) decision which orders the City of Vancouver to share numbers when it comes to Airbnb.
In 2021, the Office of the Information and the Privacy Commissioner (OIPCBC) ruled in local housing activist and former Vancouver City Council candidate’s favour to order the City to disclose Airbnb information, much like the data on licences for businesses operating in Vancouver that is published by the City.
However, Airbnb actually filed a petition for judicial review of the OIPCBC decision.
Airbnb argues the decision was “unreasonable” and “the result of an unfair process,” the supreme court document reads.
Airbnb argued the information that would be released would “demonstrate a greater risk of harm than is legally necessary” and would release information that could identify hosts.
Airbnb also said the decision was not fair to hosts who were not given notice of the requests or an opportunity to participate in the hearing.
The City of Vancouver and Airbnb sought the matter be sent back to the OIPCBC with proper notice to the Airbnb hosts.
According to Honourable Justice Basran, they found OIPCBC failed to “consider the context in which the Hosts’ principal residence addresses were required to be disclosed was unreasonable.”
“The finding that this information somehow loses its character as personal information merely because its disclosure is required in order to comply with the requirement to obtain a STR Licence is not reasonable.”
Basran said they did not accept the OIPCBC’s rationale.
“Hosts are inherently affected by the IPC’s decision because it is their personal information and privacy interests at stake if the Records are disclosed,” they said.
Basran added they also disagreed with OIPCBC’s decision not to notify Airbnb hosts.
The judge ordered to quash the OIPCBC’s decision to release the Airbnb records.
“The matter is remitted back to it for reconsideration based on these Reasons and after proper notice of the Request is provided to the Hosts,” the disposition reads.
Many housing activists have suggested that Airbnb is displacing potential renters. This blog from Ulrike Rodrigues — a vocal housing activist who tragically passed away in 2021 — sheds light on some of the potential issues that Airbnb creates for renters.
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With files from Amir Ali