Councilman: Short term rental owners getting away with breaking the law

A New Orleans City Council committee meets this afternoon to hear from members of the Cantrell administration about getting the Department of Safety and Permits to put some teeth into enforcing the city's regulations for AirBnB and other short term rental operators.

Even after a drawn out federal court battle, which the city won, to uphold the most recent version of the city's short term rental regulations, New Orleans City Council Vice President J.P. Morrell says he's hearing too many reports of short term rental owners flouting the law and not getting punished for it.

"We win that case, and rather than follow the law that we paid through blood sweat and tears to pass to actually bring these platforms and these illegal operators to heel, you decide to do the opposite," Morrell told WWL's Tommy Tucker "To be clear, the council's position is, 'we passed the law. You need to follow the law.'"

The council member said the Governmental Affairs committee will meet at 12:30 p.m. to discuss it with members of the Cantrell administration.