LAFAYETTE, La. — In recent years, short-term rentals like Airbnb and VRBO have become extremely popular across the nation, and Lafayette is no exception.
But after a ban back in October 2023 on short term rentals in residential neighborhoods, Lafayette residents have filed suit against Lafayette Consolidated Government, alleging that an ordinance outlawing short-term rentals has violated their constitutional rights.
This lawsuit challenges an unprecedented and discriminatory Lafayette ordinance that targets “short term rentals” of single-family residences lasting less than 30 days. That ordinance deprives a disfavored subset of property owners in the City of their fundamental right to lease the property and their right to include others on the property, in direct conflict with the Takings Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The ordinance cannot remain standing," the lawsuit, filed Monday, states.
Michael DeSelle and his wife, were enthusiastic about starting their short-term rental business in Lafayette.
"We had stayed in Airbnbs many times," DeSelle said. "[My wife] asked, 'What do you think if we buy a house in the Saint Streets and Airbnb it?' I thought, with what I could tell, it's a good opportunity to make money. Let's try it."
The DeSelles initially succeeded, earning $6,000 a month from their rental, a single-family home and a converted detached garage.
However, that all changed when a rental ban was implemented by LCG.
"To single out Airbnb or short-term rentals as the ones to ban from running a business out of a house. It's really an overreach and unfair," he said.
Following the ban, the couple had to convert their short-term rental into a long-term rental, resulting in a significant drop in income.
"It cut it about 50%," DeSelle tells KATC.
Along with other plaintiffs, DeSelle claims that the ban resulted in substantial losses in income and revenue, ultimately forcing him to put their property—into which they had invested $90,000—up for sale.
"I hope we get reimbursed for the loss of income since the ban and that it forces Lafayette Consolidated Government to suspend the ban and rethink it, to come up with a reasonable policy for Airbnbs to succeed in the city," he says.
KATC reached out to the Lafayette Consolidated Government for comment regarding the lawsuit, but officials stated they do not comment on pending litigation.
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