NYC Targets Airbnb With New Rental Registration Rules

New York City is toughening its enforcement of the city’s 2021 Booking Service Data Reporting Law by issuing new rules that require would-be Airbnb home-sharing Hosts to prove that they reside in the residences offered for rental and that their homes abide by local zoning and safety requirements.

Airbnb Hosts must fulfill these requirements as part of a new short-term rental registration process that requires them to register with a database overseen by the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement OSE. Failure to comply could result in up to $5,000 in penalty fees.

The city says the new rules are needed to shut down widespread illegal rental activity that has been using fake Host profiles on Airbnb and other sharing platforms to market “substandard” short-term housing.

The registration requirements were enacted in the wake of a lawsuit filed in July by OSE to shut down what it called an illegal short-term rental operation being run by a licensed real estate broker in Turtle Bay. According to NYC’s complaint, broker Arron Latimer and building owner Apex Management ran an illegal short-term rental operation at 344 East 51^st Street using Airbnb to make the bookings.

The lawsuit was announced by Mayor Eric Adams, who said that “bad actors” have for several years “used fake host profiles on popular sites like Airbnb to deceive and lure unsuspecting guests into paying for substandard lodging at illegal rental listings.”

“Not only did they unlawfully pocket millions, but they endangered guests and deprived New Yorkers of an entire building’s worth of long-term housing,” Adams said. “We are sending a clear message that this kind of lawlessness will not be tolerated in our city. We are not going to stand by while shady brokers use illegal listings and fake host accounts to skirt the law and defraud consumers.”

OSE Executive Director Christian Klossner told the New York Daily News that he expects to see 10,000 Airbnb listings “disappear” as the new registration rules go into effect on Jan. 1.

San Francisco-based Airbnb, the pioneer in connecting people to short-term housing accommodations provided by people who want to rent out their homes, sent an email message to its NYC-area users this week accusing the Adams Administration of enacting the registration rules to make it harder for people to rent out their homes in NYC.

According to an NPR report, the Airbnb email message said: “We’re reaching out because [New York City] is set to enact a law that would drastically affect the ability of New York Hosts to continue sharing their homes.”

It continued, “As a result, short-term rental accommodations for travelers like you will be dramatically reduced to hotels and a shared room with no locks. This will restrict travel options outside popular tourism areas and hurt small businesses through the city.”

According to NPR, the email message contained a form assisting users in complaining to NYC officials about the new registration restrictions.

Airbnb also gave a statement to NPR saying it supports “a regulatory framework that helps responsible Hosts and targets illegal hotel operators.”