Tech

Airbnb's new tool will let you complain about your neighbors who rent out their apartment

Noah Kulwin
WATCH LIVE
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Starting today, if you have a complaint against a neighbor who is renting out their home on Airbnb, you can complain to Airbnb about any issues that you might have.

If someone turned a nearby brownstone into a hostel or threw a few too many raucous parties, you can now visit airbnb.com/neighbors and tell the company about it.

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"Neighbors can submit information without having their name disclosed to a host or allow our team to pass along their contact information so the host can follow up with them directly," the company said today in a blog post. "Once a neighbor submits feedback, we will send a confirmation email, along with a case number."

The Neighbor tool isn't the same thing as filing a complaint with the city. For more immediate action, your best bet is getting in touch with the relevant local authorities. In San Francisco, for example, you should get in touch with the Office of Short-Term Rentals.

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Over the last few months, Airbnb has bowed to pressure from regulators on the issue of "illegal hotel" listings, which are a frequent target of neighbors' ire.

In its Neighbor announcement post, Airbnb stressed that it pledges to "treat each case seriously.

"Hosting is a big responsibility and those who repeatedly fail to meet our standards and expectations will be subject to suspension or removal from the Airbnb community."

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