“It is unfair that we have to be so restricted in our own homes,” said Chowdhury.Īirbnb has also commented on the pending law, saying that new regulations could hurt New Yorkers who rely on short-term rentals amid the rising cost of living in the city.Īirbnb’s public policy regional lead, Nathan Rotman, issued a statement, NPR reported, which said: “Airbnb agrees regular New Yorkers should be able to share their home and not be targeted by the City, and we urge the administration to work with our Host community to support a regulatory framework that helps responsible Hosts and targets illegal hotel operators.”īut Klossner and Cox pushed back, with Cox adding that many complaining are “anti-tenant”. “Short-term rentals very often turn into a disruption of that peace.”īut Farhana Chowdhury, for example, wrote in a city online forum that renting out space via Airbnb helped pay for her mortgage and children’s college education. “People want to feel safe and secure and at peace in their homes,” said Klossner. Proponents of Local Law 18 have also criticized the impact that short-term rentals can have on neighborhoods.Īccording to Klossner, neighbors living near a short-term rental often complain about disruption, including noise, weekday parties that can feature excessive drinking and drug use, and other disturbances as well as security concerns. “They changed the use of an apartment from a residential property into a hotel,” said Murray Cox, founder of Inside Airbnb. There are over 40,000 Airbnb listings in New York, according to data from Inside Airbnb, a data project on Airbnb and its impact in cities worldwide. Philadelphia also brought in tighter regulations with the new year. Santa Monica also requires those participating in home-sharing, such as renting out a spare room, to register with the city and pay taxes on the extra income. Santa Monica, California, which Klossner cited as a model for New York, banned renting whole units for less than 30 days, reported the Los Angeles Times. This is the latest chapter in the long saga that has pitted residential communities, hotel businesses, advocates for affordable housing and city leaders across the US and in many other countries near and far against the long-proliferating power and appeal of hosting platforms, given the flexibility they provide travelers. All this registration requires is that platforms and hosts comply to the existing laws,” said Cayler. “We made no amendments to the law whatsoever. Tom Cayler, chair of the Coalition Against Illegal Hotels and a member of the West Side Neighborhood Alliance, emphasized that Local Law 18 is about enforcing dwelling requirements that already exist. Previously, the city would rely on individual complaints to address issues with short-term rentals or rely on platforms to enforce the regulations themselves.īut under new rules, any hosts in violation could be fined between $1,000 and $5,000. Platforms that advertise short-term rentals, such as Airbnb and Vrbo, would also be required to ensure that all hosts using the app are abiding by city law and are properly registered. Under the crackdown, hosts would need to prove that they reside in the rented properties, that the home is up to safety code and other requirements that amount to a stronger enforcement of existing laws relating to multiple dwellings and permanent residencies. ![]() Legal short-term rentals are any properties where no more than two people are hosted, the host resides in the dwelling unit, and where guests have access to all parts of the dwelling unit, according to the city. ![]() Local Law 18, passed by the city council last year, would now require short-term rentals to be registered with the city. “Regular people have been lured on to the site where it is easy to advertise illegal occupancy without restraint,” said Klossner, who pointed to Airbnb’s main launching page that recruits hosts based on revenue they could make from entire home occupancy, which is not permitted in the city. With the new regulations, the city is aiming to enforce regulations around thousands of illegal short-term rentals across the city, according to Christian Klossner, the executive director of New York City mayor’s office of special enforcement, which will oversee implementation of the law.
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