13-Apr-15 – Ever since Mayor Rahm Emanuel declared Chicago a world-class city and invited 50 million tourists to visit every year, there has been amazing demand for affordable hotel rooms.

Thanks to Airbnb, Inc. and similar rental services, virtually every apartment, condominium unit, and home in the Windy City is now a potential hotel room. Want a home-share place close to Wrigley Field to take in a weekend Cubs game? Or a nice high-rise near Mag Mile shopping? Visit www.Airbnb.com, which boasts “unique places to stay from local hosts” in 190 countries around the globe.

San Francisco-based Airbnb currently is the biggest player in the home-sharing game. Founded in 2008, the service allows anyone to list his or her house, condo, spare room, couch, boat, tree house, or any other living space for short-term rental.

There are currently 500,000 listings across the world and you will find the following choices among 789 rentals listed in Chicago…

From the lessor’s point of view, home sharing is big business. The revenue stream can put thousands of dollars in an owner’s pocket. But what happens if the person doing the leasing is not an owner?

In Old Town, a Realtor and owner of a vintage apartment building wondered why one tenant asked for a lock box to be placed on the front of the building and then kept losing her keys. After noticing an abundance of strangers wandering in and out of the building on weekends, things began to add up.

The Realtor conducted an online search for her property at Airbnb.com and found several interior and exterior color photos of her one-bedroom apartment listed for $125 a night under the headline: Historic Old Town Chicago.

The tenant’s listing read, “My charming and comfortable one-bedroom apartment on a quiet, lovely tree-lined street is in the heart of the best neighborhood in Chicago! Steps from great restaurants, comedy clubs, Lincoln Park, and the beach. It is the perfect place to stay with your dog!”

The shocked Realtor confronted the tenant, who admitted she was guilty of unauthorized home sharing to strangers for months, pocketing several thousand dollars in profit. The renter was put on notice that freelance subletting is a violation of the lease and that she was subject to eviction. Remorseful, the tenant removed the listing from the service.

Short-term renters not welcome at homeowner associations

Despite the room-renting boom, experts say more and more apartment landlords, condo boards, and management companies are beginning to crack down on lease and rule violations. Most condo associations and HOA bylaws generally do not allow residents to openly rent their units short-term to Windy City vacationers and tourists.

Critics of home sharing in condos say a constant stream of non-resident visitors raises security concerns, adds wear and tear to common areas, and complicates the enforcement of house rules. Short-term rentals may also violate zoning and hospitality laws.