In the days following City Council's contentious ruling on TNC type 2 rentals, a new company has emerged to help enforce these rules.
Austin-based BNB Shield finds and reports illegal and contract-breaking short term rentals, according to their website. The company has 3 employees in Austin.
CEO Jacques Casimir got the idea for the business while working on the other side of the equation. He and some friends were trying to aggregate and manage a group of rental properties, and inspiration struck one day while they were watching "Catch Me If You Can." In the movie, the main character is a con artist who later helps the FBI catch tax evaders.
"We thought we could just switch to the other side and work on enforcement, because that's where they need help," said Casimir. "The public sector isn't as good as the private sector in a lot of these things. They're not as efficient. So, we decided that enforcement is the way to go."
The company aims to give landlords and property owners more visibility when tenants break lease agreements that prohibit renting via Airbnb and similar services. Their site mentions short-term rentals being linked to "drugs, bed bugs, prostitution, pornography and other crimes," which is enough to make any property owner cringe.
BNB Shield president Jordan French said that in some cases, they've seen up to 50 percent of a building being listed on a short-term rental site during events like SXSW and ACL. And in buildings with lax enforcement, new non-residents join in and create a multiplier effect.
"They start pooling into particular buildings because they realize enforcement is really low there. And then it kind of creates this swell," said Casimir.
The company, already with one condominium association as a customer, combs through short-term rental sites like Airbnb and HomeAway and notifies the apartments when they find listings that are in violation of lease agreements.
City Council ruled 9-2 against Type 2 rentals on February 24th, amidst pressure from HomeAway who argued that a few bad actors have spoiled the bunch. And after seeing the council impose rules on another on-demand business like transportation network companies, San Francisco VC Mike Maples said Floodgate would no longer invest in on-demand startups in Austin, citing the headwinds coming from the city government.
