Brazilian court sides with angry neighbors in Airbnb trial

Late in February, short-term rental giant Airbnb published its 2020 financial results — the first such report since going public in December. Hampered by the pandemic, the company reported a decrease of 41 percent in bookings and 30 percent in revenue but still outperformed rivals Booking.com and Expedia, which saw profits shrink 63 and 67 percent, respectively. In Latin America, the company highlighted the “resilience of domestic travel in certain countries, such as Brazil and Mexico,” but refrained from making predictions about 2021.

And in Brazil, the company’s business model could be put in jeopardy — not because of the country’s continuously high levels of coronavirus infections. In fact, Airbnb’s profits could be at risk because of a simple neighborly feud.

By a 3-1 margin, a panel of judges of the Superior Court of Justice ruled that apartment complexes can prevent owners from leasing their property on Airbnb. While the decision will not automatically be applied to all similar cases in lower courts, it creates a weighty precedent against the rental giant.

The case in question concerned a legal dispute between two neighbors, dating back to the 2014 World Cup. An apartment complex in Porto Alegre — the capital of Brazil’s southernmost state Rio Grande do Sul — sued a mother...