While the ordinance says that hosts are ultimately responsible for collecting the tax, Starrels imagines that hosting platforms, like Airbnb, will likely collect the tax on behalf of the host. “Now we expect that many of the online platforms that facilitate hosting will in fact collect the necessary taxes from guests and help hosts with the necessary reporting and payments to the city,” he explains.

In addition to taxes, the new ordinance implements other regulations, including the number of days that an owner can rent a property and what qualifies as a short-term rental. “The new ordinance also places limits on the number of days per year that a host may conduct short-term rental activity and prohibits a host from operating at multiple properties within the city at one time,” Starrels says. “In basic terms, the ordinance permits a host to use only their primary residence for short-term rentals for no more than 120 days per year. Short-term rentals are still not permitted in second homes or properties owned for investment in most areas of the city. Additionally, rent-stabilized or rent-restricted housing may not be used for short-term rentals. And, apartment residents and other tenants must obtain their landlord's consent for short-term rental activity.”

For landlords, the ordinance also provides new guidance. Specifically, that renter's need the landlord's consent to operate a short-term rental. “The ordinance confirms that a tenant cannot engage in short-term rentals of leased property without their landlord's consent,” explains Starrels. “Moreover, the ordinance will provide comfort to landlords that home-sharing or short-term rental use of a rent-restricted unit will not result in tenants obtaining a “windfall” by profiting from the lower rent collected on the regulated unit.”

Landlords have had many concerns about short-term rentals, including how guests will impact surrounding tenants and the facilities at a property. “Many landlords also remain concerned that increased arrivals and departures of short-term rental guests at their properties will place a strain on management resources, personnel and maintenance needs if a multifamily property once occupied by non-transient residents becomes more like a hotel,” says Starrels. “Those property owners and managers now have the affirmative right to prohibit short-term rental activity by their tenants.”

If a tenant is listing a property as a short-term rental without the owner's consent, the landlord now has recourse under the new ordinance. “The ordinance also affords a convenience to landlords who desire to prevent short-term rental activity at their properties: landlords can file a notification with the Department of City Planning confirming that short-term rentals are not permitted at a given address,” says Starrels. “We recommend that those landlords make this filing with the Planning Department when the ordinance takes effect next year and amend their lease forms to confirm that short-term rental activity is not permitted at the property.”