A Las Vegas homeowner has been fined nearly $200,000 after his house was allegedly being rented on Airbnb – without a proper rental license.
Xin Tao had initially received a notice of a fine of $2,132 for allegedly permitting his home to be offered on Airbnb for short-term rentals in August 2021.
In the span of a few years, the fine inflated to a staggering $180,000.
Tao has instead blamed his tenant, who had signed a two-year lease, for permitting rentals without his permission.
The accused homeowner has also filed a lawsuit this week asking the city to void his fine and claiming his constitutional rights were violated.
Attorney Andrew Bao said in the filings that the city’s authorities violated Tao’s rights of due process under the Nevada Constitution by not notifying him of the issue for over two years and letting the fine grow by approximately $500 a day.
‘To have a $2,132.00 fine astronomically balloon to $180,000.00, without notice for more than two years, is a violation of due process and Petitioner’s constitutional rights,’ Bao said in the lawsuit.
‘Further, the $180,000.00 is an excessive fine and punishment in violation of Petitioner’s constitutional rights.
‘At worst, Petitioner is a victim of tenant’s fraudulent concealment and potential criminal acts,’ the lawyer stated.
The lawsuit also claims that the city has illegally taken possession of his private property and invaded his privacy.
Tao has asked the court to void the entire fine, award him damages of over $15,000 and attorneys fees, plus issue an order preventing the city from foreclosing on his home, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal.
But despite Tao’s claims, Eric McCoy, the city’s code enforcement manager clarified that the accused had never sought a license for to rent the house in a City Council meeting.
Authorities said that images of the home on Airbnb that matched those on Realtor.com were found in August 2021 and as a result, a notice and order prohibiting rentals was issued.
The department had previously received nine resident complaints about the possible short term rentals at Tao’s residence and performed 11 inspections, according to the city records.
Tao has disputed the claim and said in his lawsuit that the rental company had used photos without permission and refused demands to provide information on renting the property.
He also said that he was unable to evict the tenant for allegedly violating the lease due to lack of evidence – which supposedly both Airbnb and the City Code Enforcement Department also failed to disclose to him.
Before the lawsuit was filed, the City Council had voted unanimously to uphold the penalty and place a lien in that amount on Tao’s home in January.