3rd party Host Compliance--any legal actions against them?

[Angie250]

HI ,

We own a vacation home in Truckee, CA and have been listing it on AirBnB since Oct. 2016.  We checked local laws and found that AirBnB says that it is in Nevada county and confirms that the site collects and remits taxes for us.  We are very responsible hosts and have never once had a complaint filed against us.  A few days ago, we arrive at our house to see a red letter taped to our front door from the Town of Truckee, and the contents of the letter stated that based upon a new software that the town bought,called Host Compliance, they ESTIMATE that we owe the town (which is a municipality) $21,000 in back TOT taxes (transient occupancy taxes).  They claim that they sent several notifications to us and when they didn't hear back they filed a lein on the property.  They couldn't even tell me an exact amount.  I called nevada county and there is no lein filed on our home.  I also confirmed with the town of Truckee that they did not have our correct mailing address on file, which is odd because we are on mailing lists for the town and receive other publications from them.  They say that they are entitled to collect these "back taxes" which are calculated as 12% of all earnings from our STR.  12% is 3x the national average, btw.  At this rate I would have to not utilize at my home in Truckee at all, and be renting it out on STR sites every single day for top dollar.  I'd have to have earned nearly $300k according to "host compliances" data analytics....

Here's what I'm having a hard time with.  Has anyone else run into this problem and experienced illegal collection tactics used by HostCompliance?  What is AirBnB doing to ensure the privacy and security of its hosts are being maintained?  Town of Truckee is now asking me to remit a full Excel report of all of my earnings to "recalculate" what we owe and are even asking for SCREEN SHOTS for every single reservation.  It's illegal and tells me only that they have no information from my listing other than what their algorithm estimated.  We are responsible homeowners and pay all property taxes and were under the assumption that our taxes were being collected and remitted according to AirBnB for STR.  What recourse do we have over the completely unprofessional tactics used by the Municipality to get what they feel is owed to them?  If AirBnB doesn't get a grip on this, as well as the other STR sites, it will be the end for many hosts and ultimately for AirBnB as a whole.  I feel completely targeted and like we're being put through a shakedown.  What is AirBnB's answer to combat HostCompliance and cowboy townsfolk like Truckee?

[Virginia315]

Hello Angie,

I am sorry to hear of this distressing situation. We are also in Nevada County and have searched through the Nevada Co. ordinances to make sure we are in complete compliance with all county and city requirement before committing to be an Airbnb host. It was confusing and very vague. We were relieve to know that Airbnb was taking care of the TOT taxes, and this was a major factor in choosing to go forward with Airbnb. However, from your experience, it seem like it may not be completely the case that Airbnb is taking care of the TOT.  It sounds like they are taking care of taxes on a county level, but not with the municipalities.

I am wondering if you have any more information since you posted this on 1/2/19. Have you heard from Airbnb regarding your concerns? Has this issue been resolved?

Many thanks, Elizabeth (and Virginia)

[Avon-and-Kenny0]

I am a BNB host for 18 months in Northern Michigan. 

The township office of our  property hired the same company in writing the ordinance and plan to use them.  The 40 hosts of us in the township united and hire an attorney - however we are still reaching the consensus of how to react to the township.  Not all hosts think in the same way. 

https://eastbayhosts.com/

However restricting or eliminating township's only "technology support" from Host compliance will certainly help. 

https://hostcompliance.com/

Here're the statement I believe it's likely against the data protection law and needs BNB to investigate.  I dont know how can they get definite data without insiders/hackers within rental companies. 

Easily identify short-term rental operators who under-report taxes or violate your community’s rental frequency and rental cap regulations

BNB Managers/Shareholders, this is the road blocker company you should have your legal team evaluate otherwise you will not grow the host community once Host Compliance work closely with the local governments. There are listed counties (on their web page) showing off how successful they have been.     

[Lauren---Leigh0]

You're confusing ordinances voted in by the citizens of an incorporated city and that of unincorporated county law.  The TOT law is not new and is rightfully enforced in Truckee.  (Furthermore, referring to us as "cowboy townsfolk" by you Bay Area second home owners is not going to garner much sympathy.)