NYC’s ‘de facto ban’ on Airbnb is already removing listings
If you're currently searching Airbnb for a temporary rental in New York City, you may notice that there aren't many options available. The city officials have begun implementing fresh regulations which state that hosts must submit a registration application and fulfill a set of criteria in order to rent homes to guests for less than 30 days. Moreover, hosts can only offer short-term stays if they are residing in the property themselves, and they can only accommodate a maximum of two guests at a time. It's worth noting that these requirements are part of preexisting rental rules, with the only new addition being the Short-Term Rental Registration Law.
The Office of Special Enforcement in NYC has announced that they are working together with booking platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo to ensure compliance with the city's verification system. These platforms will now be required to verify if hosts listing their homes for stays under 30 days have been approved by authorities. According to The New York Times, as of August 28, only 257 application registrations have been approved out of the 3,250 that were submitted. This means that there could be a significant number of listings removed from Airbnb, considering that the company estimates nearly 15,000 hosts had short-term rental listings in NYC just last month.
Airbnb referred to the law as an effective prohibition on temporary lodging and initiated a legal proceeding, which was rejected recently, in an attempt to prevent its implementation. Theo Yedinsky, the global policy director of the company, expressed that the regulations negatively impact the tourism industry of NYC and convey a distinct message to countless prospective travelers: they are unwelcome and will have limited choices for accommodations while visiting the city.
The local government claimed that implementing the recent legislation would aid in tackling the issue of residential properties being used for unlawful temporary rentals. They argued that renting out homes for brief periods exacerbates the scarcity of housing options and consequently drives up the cost of living in the city.
According to statements made by Airbnb to The Times and CNN, any reservations with a check-in date on or before December 1 will not be invalidated. However, the company will reimburse any fees it collected for those stays in order to adhere to the newly imposed regulations. On the other hand, all bookings scheduled for December 2 onwards will be cancelled and guests will receive a refund. Furthermore, hosts will have their listings transformed into long-term rentals, provided they permit bookings of 30 days or longer. Listings that solely allow short-term bookings will be deactivated.
