Lackawanna votes to ban Airbnbs, other short-term rentals

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Lackawanna city officials voted 3-2 Monday night to ban short-term rentals such as Airbnb’s and Vrbo’s.

The decisions affects all districts of the city. It not only ends the ability for new ones, it also forces more than two dozen already operating in the city to shut down.

Property owners in the area said following the meeting that this will negatively impact the city’s economy.

“We bring in millions of dollars to this area, that has been economically depressed for decades without remedy from the state and it seems like this common council is looking for a solution that’s not coming,” property owner Amy Blundell said. “The solution is the people that live here, the solution are the people who care and are investing and live right here. And they’ve just rejected us.”

Blundell added that she had bookings set up through the rest of the year. The group of property owners is considering legal action after they met when the ordinance was first proposed.

Lackwanna city officials did not speak to the media after the meeting.

Lackwanna is not the only municipality to at least consider banning short-term rentals. The City of Buffalo voted in December to put a 60-day pause on new short-term rental permits after a months-long discussion about it following complaints from residents.

Airbnb, founded in 2008 as an alternative to hotels and turned its first full-year profit in 2022, has faced mounting criticism in recent years stemming from rising costs, hidden cameras, various social media complaints about owners and negatively affecting housing affordability. Many cities around the United States and the world have placed strict restrictions on or outright banned them.

Watch WIVB News 4 discuss the ban with Lackawanna City Council Member Amira Muflahi in an interview from Tuesday in the video player below.

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Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here.

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