What to Know About New Airbnb Regulations in NYC
New York City's Airbnb Crackdown: What To Expect
Starting from Tuesday, the city will implement rigorous regulations regarding the renting of homes in New York City through platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo.
City authorities in New York are anticipated to begin implementing stringent regulations today that will restrict the ability of residents to rent out their homes on platforms such as Airbnb.
The decision is anticipated to result in the elimination of numerous postings from the online platforms. This represents the newest and likely most significant advancement in the ongoing conflict between major urban centers and the companies facilitating home-sharing.
The city asserts that the widespread growth of temporary accommodations on platforms like Airbnb has resulted in higher rental prices and contributed to the scarcity of housing in New York City.
Airbnb stated that the recent regulations can be considered as an implied prohibition on the platform, while opponents argue that the city is yielding to the hotel industry's influence and denying affordable alternatives for tourists.
What Are The Latest Rules?
For a long time, the city has stated that current regulations prevent individuals from leasing houses to visitors for durations shorter than 30 days, unless the homeowner is present during the visit. The city also affirms that only a maximum of two visitors are permitted to stay simultaneously, and they should have convenient access to the entire house.
However, there are still a lot of ads available for renting entire apartments and houses, and the city has claimed that platforms like Airbnb are not putting enough effort into effectively detecting and eliminating rule breakers.
In a court document submitted in July, a representative of the city government alleged that over 50% of Airbnb's $85 million profit in 2022, generated through temporary rentals in New York City, was derived from actions that violate the law. However, Airbnb disagrees with this assertion.
The latest rules, which will be implemented by the city from Tuesday following several legal disputes, mandate that hosts must officially sign up with the city in order to legally offer short-term rentals.
To gather payments linked to brief accommodations, companies like Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com are obliged to verify the endorsement of a host's application.
From Tuesday onwards, individuals who break the regulations might be subjected to penalties of a maximum $5,000 if they persistently infringe the rules. Likewise, platforms could also be fined up to $1,500 for engaging in transactions related to illicit rentals.
Why Ban Short-Term Rentals?
According to the calculations made by municipal authorities, there were approximately 10,800 Airbnb advertisements by March 2023 that were regarded as unauthorized brief accommodations. They assert that allowing tourists and visitors to rent out these residences instead of offering them to local residents intensifies the city's severe housing scarcity, further inflating living costs.
People who reside in apartments or housing units that allow short-term rentals have expressed concerns about the potential for increased crime, disruptive noise, and issues related to cleanliness due to the constant turnover of temporary guests.
According to Christian Klossner, who is in charge of the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement, the recently introduced regulations will establish a "transparent route for hosts who adhere to the city's established legislations."
Additionally, the impact of the hotel sector, which competes directly with platforms such as Airbnb, should not be overlooked. The Hotel Trades Council, a significant player in the realm of local politics and a steadfast supporter of Mayor Eric Adams, has consistently opposed the growth and development of these online platforms.
Advantages Of Short-term Rentals
Airbnb claims that offering temporary accommodations significantly contributes to the city's tourism sector, particularly in areas with limited hotel options.
The company has engaged in a legal battle against the recent regulations, contending that the local ordinances should permit rentals without a host in certain residential properties consisting of one or two families. Moreover, the company argues that New York City's understanding of its own legislations is "unjustifiable."
Additionally, Airbnb has argued that the process of registration is needlessly complicated. However, its legal case was thrown out by the court recently.
According to Airbnb's Global Policy Director, Theo Yedinsky, the city is conveying a distinct message to numerous potential tourists planning to visit New York City. These visitors will now encounter a reduction in the choices for accommodation, depicting a sense of unwelcome.
What's Coming On Tuesday?
There will be a significantly reduced number of Airbnb listings accessible.
Short-term rentals facilitated by platforms such as Airbnb, referring to accommodations that do not fall under the "hotel" category and lack city registration, are likely to become unavailable soon. Airbnb has stated that certain listings will be transformed into long-term rentals automatically, while others will be deactivated.
In the previous month, Airbnb made an approximation that around 15,000 individuals are actively renting out their homes for short stays in the city. However, by August 28th, only 3,250 registration forms had been submitted to the city. Surprisingly, out of those, only 257 applications had been granted approval.
According to Airbnb, starting from the middle of August, they have stopped individuals from making short-term bookings in New York City beyond September 5th.
Both Airbnb and the city were unable to furnish current information regarding the anticipated number of listings that would be removed.
AirDNA, a firm that analyzes rentals, approximated that out of the approximately 13,500 currently available listings for complete apartments and houses on Airbnb, around 6,000 seemed to be categorized as hotels or available for long-term rentals. This implies that there are roughly 7,500 listings that could potentially be impacted by the recently implemented regulations.
Is My Booking At Risk Of Cancellation?
If you have made a reservation on Airbnb that falls within the next 30 days starting from Tuesday, there are a few possibilities that may occur.
For any bookings made with an arrival date prior to December 1, there will be no cancellation of reservations.
However, the company has announced that any reservations booked for dates after December 2nd will be revoked and guests will receive a full refund. Airbnb has not disclosed the exact number of these affected reservations.
The urban area declared that it would not evict visitors residing in unlawful temporary accommodations, unless there are any potential risks or dangers posed to their well-being or the apartment itself.
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The city is starting to impose restrictions on home rentals that resemble Airbnb. You can get reprints of the article or subscribe to the newspaper.
