Ken Chan’s home and former short-term rental at 3412 Race St. in Denver. (BusinessDen file)
A Denver judge has thrown out the case of a short-term rental host who accused the city of restricting his “nomadic lifestyle” when it barred him from listing his home on Airbnb.
His lawsuit, filed seven weeks ago, had been cheered on by other Airbnb hosts because it took aim at a city rule that some hosts consider too vague and onerously enforced.
Ken Chan rented out his home on Race Street in the Cole neighborhood in 2021 and 2022 while traveling for work and vacation, then was told in August that he could no longer do so. Denverites can rent out only their primary residence and the city determined that Chan moves around so much that he doesn’t have a primary residence anywhere.
Chan then sued Denver’s Department of Excise and Licenses on Sept. 25, alleging that the city’s “vague language” around primary residences wrongly cost him his short-term rental license and the income it has provided him in recent years, resulting in hardship.
“The (city) does not have authority to restrict private individuals from travel as they please and require them to be at home,” that lawsuit claimed. “A nomadic lifestyle is an individual right that cannot be restricted by an administrative agency.”
City lawyers asked that the case be thrown out because lawsuits challenging city agency rulings must be filed within 28 days and Chan’s lawsuit was filed 40 days after the ruling.
Chan’s lawyer, Sandra Silva in the Denver office of Robinson & Henry, tried to get around that deficiency by citing a law that allows people to challenge state agency rulings. She claimed that the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses is effectively a state agency because “the executive director of the department…is appointed by the governor of Colorado.”
But that’s not true. Denver’s mayor appoints the director of Excise and Licenses.
On Nov. 9, Denver District Court Judge Shelley Gilman dismissed Chan’s lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed a dozen days too late to challenge a city agency decision and then wrongly cited the law for challenging state agency decisions, the judge determined.
A spokesman for Excise and Licenses declined to comment on the decision. Its lawyers were Gennevieve St. Leger and Reginald Nubine from the City Attorney’s Office.
Silva and a spokeswoman for Robinson & Henry didn’t answer requests for comment.
Ken Chan’s home and former short-term rental at 3412 Race St. in Denver. (BusinessDen file)
A Denver judge has thrown out the case of a short-term rental host who accused the city of restricting his “nomadic lifestyle” when it barred him from listing his home on Airbnb.
His lawsuit, filed seven weeks ago, had been cheered on by other Airbnb hosts because it took aim at a city rule that some hosts consider too vague and onerously enforced.
Ken Chan rented out his home on Race Street in the Cole neighborhood in 2021 and 2022 while traveling for work and vacation, then was told in August that he could no longer do so. Denverites can rent out only their primary residence and the city determined that Chan moves around so much that he doesn’t have a primary residence anywhere.
Chan then sued Denver’s Department of Excise and Licenses on Sept. 25, alleging that the city’s “vague language” around primary residences wrongly cost him his short-term rental license and the income it has provided him in recent years, resulting in hardship.
“The (city) does not have authority to restrict private individuals from travel as they please and require them to be at home,” that lawsuit claimed. “A nomadic lifestyle is an individual right that cannot be restricted by an administrative agency.”
City lawyers asked that the case be thrown out because lawsuits challenging city agency rulings must be filed within 28 days and Chan’s lawsuit was filed 40 days after the ruling.
Chan’s lawyer, Sandra Silva in the Denver office of Robinson & Henry, tried to get around that deficiency by citing a law that allows people to challenge state agency rulings. She claimed that the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses is effectively a state agency because “the executive director of the department…is appointed by the governor of Colorado.”
But that’s not true. Denver’s mayor appoints the director of Excise and Licenses.
On Nov. 9, Denver District Court Judge Shelley Gilman dismissed Chan’s lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed a dozen days too late to challenge a city agency decision and then wrongly cited the law for challenging state agency decisions, the judge determined.
A spokesman for Excise and Licenses declined to comment on the decision. Its lawyers were Gennevieve St. Leger and Reginald Nubine from the City Attorney’s Office.
Silva and a spokeswoman for Robinson & Henry didn’t answer requests for comment.
