LAFAYETTE, La. (The Daily Advertiser) – AirBnB, a temporary housing service gaining popularity all over the world, filed a lawsuit against its hometown San Francisco on Monday over new housing regulations it claims are illegal.

The company, which allows people to rent out their homes, apartments and even spare rooms for short stays, has been the source of controversy in some major cities like New York, San Francisco, Chicago and recently New Orleans where 20,000 visitors reportedly booked through AirBnB during this year’s Jazz Fest.

The appeal of an AirBnB rental versus booking a hotel ranges from affordability and location to local charm and unique accommodations.

Here in the Lafayette area, there are roughly 200 AirBnB rentals available, according to the company’s site.

AirBnB’s local presence was brought up recently in the Lafayette Consolidated Government Planning and Zoning liaison meeting.

Some local subdivisions already carry “no rent” policies, but LCG has no regulation on services like AirBnB on the books, Carlee Alm-LaBar, LCG Zoning and Development director, said.

“At this time there is no local government regulation on AirBnB,” she said during the meeting.

On April 1, a new state law imposing a 4 percent sales tax on AirBnB rentals went into effect. Just how much revenue the new law, formerly House Bill 59, will raise was uncertain when it passed through the House and Senate this session.

Arguments against AirBnB’s growing popularity in larger cities like San Francisco and New Orleans stem from what some say are loose regulations and its strain on already scarce affordable housing.

But Alm-Labar said her department has not received any complaints about the services here thus far. Much like when Uber expanded its business into Lafayette, however, it is likely that the city and parish will look at creating some policy as rental availability grows, she said.

“I think it’s something we will be probably be talking about in the future,” Alm-Labar said.