What's Hot: Douglas Development Files PUD For Large Warehouse At New City Site Along New York Avenue
DC Attorney General Settles City Apartel Suit
✉️ Want to forward this article? Click here.
In 2017, Ginosi USA Corporation became one of the more recognizable names when it came to the practice of subletting short-term rentals out of DC apartment buildings, compelling a lawsuit from the city, inspiring an early version of DC's Airbnb regulation bill, and bringing the term "apartel" into the public consciousness.
Now, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has settled that suit.
On Friday, OAG announced that Ginosi has been barred from operating apartels (hotel use of apartment units) in the city. The settlement requires Ginosi to pay more than $782,900 to the District, and the company can no longer do any residential business in the city. Also, for the next ten years, the company must give the OAG a 60-day notice before conducting any other consumer-related business in DC.
story continues below
loading...story continues above
Prior to the lawsuit, the company had been operating at least 70 unlicensed apartels out of rent-controlled buildings in Wards 2 and 6. The lawsuit characterized Ginosi's apartels as a violation of DC's consumer protection laws, noting that the company also used deceptive pricing practices. This is not the first settlement reached in relation to Ginosi's apartel operation, with a previous settlement resulting in restitution to affected tenants of apartel buildings.
“Ginosi violated District law by unlawfully converting building units that were intended to be available for long-term renters into short-term hotel-like units,” AG Karl Racine said in a statement. “The District’s affordable housing crisis is squeezing our residents, and illegal schemes like Ginosi’s heighten the problem.”
Since 2017's apartel outcry (and other apartment buildings coming under fire for unsanctioned short-term rentals), other businesses have found success in the District operating short-term rentals out of residential buildings.
See other articles related to: airbnb dc, airbnb illegal, apartel, apartels, dc attorney general, ginosi, illegal short-term rentals, oag, office of the attorney general, short-term rental
This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/office-of-the-attorney-general-settles-ginosi-apartel-suit/16098.
Most Popular... This Week • Last 30 Days • Ever
![First-Timer Primer: Tax Relief for DC Homeowners](https://assets.urbanturf.com/dc/images/blog/2013/02/Homestead_Exemption_280.jpg)
When you buy a home in the District, you will have to pay property taxes along with y... read »
![A 127-Unit Luxury Condo Building In The Works For Downtown DC](https://assets.urbanturf.com/dc/images/blog/2024/07/resized/950%203rd%20Street%20Dusk%20EXT_image_560x420.jpg)
The largest condominium building in downtown DC in recent memory is currently under c... read »
![HPO Recommends Approval For 160-Unit Office-To-Residential Conversion in Dupont Circle](https://assets.urbanturf.com/dc/images/blog/2024/06/resized/1201-Conn_image_560x420.jpg)
The plan to convert a Dupont Circle office building into a residential development ap... read »
![Beautifully Constructed Condominium in The Bridge District is Now 50% Sold](https://assets.urbanturf.com/dc/images/blog/2024/07/Riviere%20article/resized/2305%20Nicholson%20St%20SE%20405-0003_image_560x420.jpg)
The Rivière includes just 20 homes located on the eastern banks of the Anacostia Riv... read »
![Monday's Must Reads](https://assets.urbanturf.com/dc/images/blog/2024/07/resized/bubble_image_560x420.jpg)
Why Tyra Banks is serving ice cream in DC; a bike shop/record store opens in Adams Mo... read »
DC Real Estate Guides
Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market
We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Start browsing below!
First-Timer Primers
Intro guides for first-time home buyers
Unique Spaces
Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro