Vancouver housing activist Rohana Rezel has had a beef with Airbnb and the City of Vancouver for years, and a B.C. Supreme Court ruling this week means thereB次元官网网址檚 no end in sight.

Rezel had made Freedom of Information requests to the city in 2019, seeking information about the hosts of short-term rentals. But the city and the company resisted, saying it could harm property owners, and make them susceptible to violence and even stalking.

British ColumbiaB次元官网网址檚 Information and Privacy Commissioner agreed in part, but ordered the city to release information to Rezel including B次元官网网址渓icence numbers of individuals on the Airbnb platform, home addresses of all hosts in the City; and the licence numbers associated with those addresses.B次元官网网址�

Airbnb objected to the city releasing the information and sought a judicial review in B.C. Supreme Court last year.

This week, Justice Jasvinder Basran sided with the company, ordering the privacy commissioner to reconsider its decision, and notify hosts whose information is at stake.

For Rezel, Airbnb hosts in Vancouver are B次元官网网址渁 select group of people to run a business in such secrecy.B次元官网网址�

He said he wanted to uncover information about short-term rentals because people should be able to know if theyB次元官网网址檝e been evicted to make way for an Airbnb, and they should know if theyB次元官网网址檙e living next to one.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e been helping a lot of people whoB次元官网网址檝e been evicted to make way for Airbnb and a lot of the times people donB次元官网网址檛 even know that the reason that they have been evicted is because of Airbnb,B次元官网网址� Rezel said in an interview on Thursday.

B次元官网网址淧eople suspect that, but they have no way of knowing that for sure and they would come to me and (have) to use indirect means to figure that out.B次元官网网址�

Rezel said the City of VancouverB次元官网网址檚 reluctance to release information about hosts and their short-term rentals makes it difficult to prove a wrongful eviction.

B次元官网网址淣ow imagine if this data was publicly available,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭hen if you get an eviction notice, three months later you can look this up and you can see well, they evicted me, but then they applied for a license.B次元官网网址�

Airbnb this week won its case to have RezelB次元官网网址檚 request reconsidered, but the activist had no involvement in the case, identified only as a B次元官网网址淛ohn Doe Requester.B次元官网网址�

He said the company had sought costs involved in the judicial review, which he wouldnB次元官网网址檛 have been able to cover if heB次元官网网址檇 participated.

An affidavit submitted to the privacy commissioner by the city had described social media posts that were B次元官网网址渙bscene, aggressive, and threateningB次元官网网址� toward operators of short-term rentals, to demonstrate the potential harm from releasing the information.

The judgeB次元官网网址檚 decision says the privacy commissioner wrongly classified home addresses as business information rather than personal information since Airbnb hosts run home-based businesses in their principal residences.

The privacy commissionerB次元官网网址檚 finding that licence numbers B次元官网网址渁re personal information, but principal residence addresses are not, is confounding,B次元官网网址� Basran wrote.

B次元官网网址淭he latter has a much closer connection to the personal lives and details of the hosts. (Short-term rental licence) numbers, hostsB次元官网网址� principal residence addresses, and the acknowledged ability of anyone to find the names of individual hosts, in and of itself, constitutes the disclosure of a wide range of personal information,B次元官网网址� the ruling states. B次元官网网址淭aken cumulatively, it would enable the discovery of a treasure trove of personal information.B次元官网网址�

Rezel said he was disappointed by the ruling, which means heB次元官网网址檒l have to wait even longer to see if he can access information about short-term rentals in Vancouver in the midst of a housing crisis.

B次元官网网址淚 firmly believe that you canB次元官网网址檛 have one set of businesses that are playing by the rules and then another set of businesses that are able to operate in secrecy,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 almost as if itB次元官网网址檚 a two-tier system.B次元官网网址�

Airbnb did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the court ruling.

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