Sec. 26-622. - Legal duties of short-term rental platform permit holders.
(a) Any person possessing a short-term rental platform permit shall comply at all times with the following requirements:
(1) No platform may collect a fee or anything of value in exchange for conducting, facilitating, or completing any booking transaction for a short-term rental of a dwelling unit in Orleans Parish that is not in compliance with this article. A short-term rental is not in compliance with this article if (i) the owner of the dwelling unit does not possess a valid short-term rental owner permit for that dwelling unit; (ii) the dwelling unit is not operated by an operator with a valid short-term rental operator permit, or (iii) use of the dwelling unit for short-term rentals would contravene the Code of the City of New Orleans, the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, or any other municipal, state, or federal law.
(2) Each platform shall have a duty to obtain commercial general liability insurance, with limits of not less than $1,000,000.00 per occurrence, for bodily injury, personal injury (if commercially available) and property damage arising in any way from the issuance of the short-term rental platform permit or activities conducted pursuant to that permit. Each policy of insurance shall: (i) be issued by an insurer authorized to insure in the State of Louisiana; (ii) name the City of New Orleans as an additional insured on a primary, noncontributory basis for any liability arising directly or indirectly from the issuance of the permit (if commercially available); (iii) be maintained in full force and effect for the duration of the permit period; and (iv) include a provision requiring 30 calendar days' advance notice to the department prior to cancellation or lapse of the policy.
(3) A platform shall ensure that any portal, listing service, or website under its ownership or control that facilitates booking transactions in Orleans Parish complies with the terms and requirements of this article.
(4) A platform must verify the legal eligibility of each booking transaction they facilitate through the city's electronic verification system. Verifications shall be made as follows:
(i) Each listing must be verified before any booking transaction is facilitated.
(ii) Each listing must be reverified at least every 30 days of the prior verification in order to facilitate subsequent booking transactions.
(iii) Each listing must be reverified whenever a verifying entity knows or should know that any data it used to complete the most recent verification has changed, including but not limited to the host's name and the address of the listing.
(5) The short term rental owner or operator must report the address, operator name, owner name, and other details contained on a permit exactly as it appears on the permit to the platform for the listing to be verified through the city's electronic verification system. Deviations in spelling or other information may result in a failed verification and are solely the responsibility of the owner and operator.
(6) Platforms must submit a monthly report to the department, in a form approved by the department, that contains the following information about each of the booking transactions facilitated through the platform during the applicable reporting period:
(i) The Universal Resource Locator (URL) links of each short-term rental and exempt lodging business for which booking transactions were facilitated by the platform during the applicable reporting period; and
(ii) The confirmation code verifying eligibility for rental for each booking transaction facilitated by the platform during the applicable reporting period.
(7) Upon issuance of a subpoena from the city, provide the following information as specified in the subpoena:
(i) The total number of short-term rental properties for which booking transactions were facilitated by the platform during the applicable reporting period;
(ii) The total number of exempt lodging business properties for which booking transactions were facilitated by the platform during the applicable reporting period;
(iii) The address of any short-term rental or exempt lodging business listed on the platform for rental;
(iv) The number of booking transactions facilitated for each short-term rental during the applicable reporting period;
(v) Whether each booking transaction facilitated by the platform was for an entire unit or a partial unit;
(vi) A listing of dates during which the short-term rental was rented as part of a booking transaction facilitated by the platform during the applicable reporting period;
(vii) The amount of rent paid as part of each booking transaction facilitated by the platform for a short-term rental;
(viii) An accounting of taxes and fees collected and paid by the platform as part of each booking transaction facilitated by the platform;
(ix) The address of any short-term rental or exempt lodging business listed on the platform for rental;
(x) The name of the person or entity listing any short-term rental or exempt lodging business on the platform for rental;
(xi) The dates and durations of stays booked through the platform at any short-term rental or exempt lodging business;
(xii) The number of guests and bedrooms specified in the listing at the time of rental; and
(xiii) The number of guests included in the rental, as specified by the renter.
(b) The provisions of Division 4 shall be interpreted in accordance with other applicable state and federal law(s).
(M.C.S., Ord. No. 28157, § 1, 8-8-19, eff. 12-1-19; M.C.S., Ord. No. 30074, § 1, 10-10-24, eff. 8-1-25; M.C.S., Ord. No. 30244, § 1, 3-13-25; M.C.S., Ord. No. 30300, § 1, 4-10-25; M.C.S., Ord. No. 30319, § 1, 4-24-25; M.C.S., Ord. No. 30376, § 1, 6-26-25; M.C.S., Ord. No. 30483, 10-9-25)
