<p>The city of Chicago has filed a lawsuit accusing short-term rental home company Airbnb and one of its hosts of improperly listing numerous properties.</p><p>The complaint filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court alleged that real estate broker Milan Rubenstein and his company, Slumber Stay LLC, did not properly register his short-term rentals and used a single nontransferable hotel license for multiple listings — then kept renting those units after being issued citations.</p><p>Airbnb was accused of profiting from those allegedly unlawful rentals rather than working with the city to ensure compliance with the Shared Housing Ordinance.</p><p>According to the lawsuit, the city issued Rubenstein and Slumber Stay LLC nearly 200 violations in 2024 and 2025. The lawsuit alleged that Airbnb was aware of those violations but chose to “prioritize profits over compliance with City law.”</p><p>Mary Richardson-Lowry, City Hall’s top lawyer, said “the city has been in discussions with [Airbnb and Rubenstein] for a number of years now, and they continue to not bring themselves in compliance. It affects the safety of those who inhabit those units,” as well as the affordability of long-term rentals in the city’s neighborhoods.</p><p>Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement that the lawsuit aims to prioritize Chicagoans “at a time when affordability remains front of mind.”</p><p>“Requiring short-term rental companies to follow the same rules as everyone else is critical to our work of building a safer, more affordable Chicago,” he said.</p><p>Airbnb representatives said they had not yet seen the court filing.