A North Carolina man has racked up more than $1 million in city fines for renting properties on short-term rental sites such as Airbnb. And he’s fighting back.
The Asheville Citizen-Times reported Saturday that Reid Thompson is in a protracted zoning battle with the city of Asheville, a hip tourist spot in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
The neighborhood’s residential zoning forbids him from renting his three units on a short-term basis, but he’s doing it anyway. He’s been racking up $1,500 a day in fines for the last two years.
“If I have to stop doing short-term rentals, I’ll be bankrupt in 60 days,” Thompson told the newspaper Friday.
On Oct. 9, elected officials will consider his request to rezone the properties at a council meeting.
Airbnb is banned in much of Asheville in an effort to preserve affordable housing. But Thompson said traffic from a nearby Whole Foods grocery store makes his properties unattractive to long-term renters.
He wants the city to change the zoning laws in his neighborhood.
The newspaper said the city sued Thompson in March of 2017 and he countersued.
Interestingly, Asheville led North Carolina in rentals at some $20 million, according to Airbnb, despite restrictions.
According to the newspaper, the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-2 in July to rezone the properties.
