Airbnb Is Breaking Portland's New Licensing Law, but the City Shows Restraint

Airbnb and similar companies such as Homeaway and Flipkey provide an online service for property owners to rent out their home or apartments on a short-term basis. These companies have stirred up controversy with municipalities across the country regarding the collection of lodging taxes.

As of Friday, February 20, 2015, the City of Portland's new rules of requiring hosts to get permits went into effect, but few have followed through.  The city could impose steep fines on these companies for each day each host is not in compliance, but have yet to flex their muscle. More about this is covered in a recently published article in The Oregonian.