§ 48-16. Hosting platforms.
(a) In general.
(1) All hosting platforms must comply with the following requirements.
(2) The Housing Commissioner may issue and serve administrative subpoenas as necessary to ensure compliance by hosting platforms with this subtitle.
(b) Verification of host’s bona fides.
(1) No hosting platform may advertise, list, or otherwise facilitate booking transactions for a short-term residential rental in the City without having verified with the Housing Commissioner that the license of the host is valid and that the address of the dwelling unit matches the address listed for the license.
(2) A hosting platform that has verified the validity of a license for a short-term residential rental is not required to re-verify the validity of the license, unless:
(i) the Housing Commissioner has notified the hosting platform that the dwelling unit cannot lawfully be used for a short-term residential rental; or
(ii) the host has ceased to offer short-term residential rentals through that hosting platform for a period of 12 months or more since the license was last verified.
(3) If the Housing Commissioner notifies a hosting platform that a dwelling unit cannot lawfully be used for a short-term residential rental, the hosting platform may not advertise, list, or otherwise facilitate booking transactions for that dwelling until it receives subsequent confirmation from the Commissioner that the short-term residential rental can lawfully be provided.
(4) If a hosting platform receives written notice from the Housing Commissioner that a dwelling unit advertised or listed for short-term residential rental on the hosting platform cannot lawfully be used for a short-term residential rental, the hosting platform must remove the advertisement or listing within 3 days.
(5) A hosting platform may not collect or receive a fee in exchange for facilitating reservations, advertisements, or listings of short-term residential rentals, for serving as a communication conduit between hosts and transient guests, or for otherwise facilitating booking transactions for short-term residential rentals if the dwelling unit cannot lawfully be used for a short-term residential rental.
(c) Rental records.
(1) In general.
A hosting platform must:
(i) make a record of all short-term residential rentals in Baltimore City advertised, listed, or otherwise facilitated by that platform;
(ii) maintain that record for at least the period of years required by the rules and regulations adopted under this subtitle; and
(iii) on request, make that record available for inspection by the Housing Commissioner.
(2) Contents.
These records must include, for each short-term residential rental:
(i) the name and license number of the host who provided the short-term residential rental;
(ii) the street address and the Block and Lot Numbers of the short-term residential rental;
(iii) the date of the booking transaction;
(iv) the start and end dates of the short-term residential rental;
(v) the rent and other fees charged by the host and by the hosting platform for providing or facilitating the short-term residential rental and related services;
and
(vi) any other information required by the rules and regulations adopted under this subtitle.
(d) Display of license numbers.
In any advertisement or listing of a dwelling unit available for short-term residential rentals in Baltimore City, hosting platforms must include the license numbers of the hosts offering those rentals.
(Ord. 19-217.)
