Is this crisis time for Airbnb in New York? New rules make rentals shorter than 30 days more difficult in the Big Apple
- New regulations dictate rentals shorter than 30 days are allowed only if hosts register with the city, live with guests and put up no more than two at a time
- Supporters of the restrictions say they are necessary to stop flats from ‘becoming hotels’. Detractors say they prove visitors are ‘not welcome’
Home-sharing giant Airbnb said it has had to stop accepting some reservations in New York City as new regulations on short-term rentals went into effect on September 5 that will mean big changes for travellers hoping to avoid the high cost of a Big Apple hotel.
The new rules are intended to end a free-for-all in which city landlords and residents have been renting out their flats by the week or the night to tourists or others in town for short stays.
Under the new system, rentals shorter than 30 days are allowed only if hosts register with the city. Hosts must commit to being physically present in the home for the duration of the rental, sharing living quarters with their guest. More than two guests at a time are not allowed, either, meaning families are effectively barred.
“In New York City, residential apartments should be for residential use,” said Murray Cox, of Inside Airbnb, a housing advocacy group that collects data about the company’s presence in cities around the world.
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Airbnb has fought the rules in court, arguing they were essentially a ban, and that they would hurt visitors looking for affordable accommodation.
But since August 21, the company – which had 38,500 active non-hotel listings in New York City as recently as January – said it had stopped accepting new short-term reservations from any host who had not provided either a city registration number or documentation that it was in process.
It said once the city’s verification system was fully up and running, no short-term listing would be allowed on its site without a registration number.
Some hosts of smaller homes said they were being unfairly targeted and lumped in with larger flat buildings.
“I think this is a huge indication that our elected officials have let us down,” said Krystal Payne, who lives in a two-family home in Brooklyn and had been renting out one of the flats to help pay her mortgage.
The regulations were adopted by the city in January 2022 but were held up by legal action until August 2023.
While online rental listing services gave travellers more options in New York – and were a financial windfall to residents who rented out their homes while away on holiday – they have also led to complaints about scarce housing in residential neighbourhoods being gobbled up by tourists.
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“Registration creates a clear path for hosts who follow the city’s long-standing laws and protects travellers from illegal and unsafe accommodations, while ending the proliferation of illegal short-term rentals,” Christian Klossner, executive director of New York’s Office of Special Enforcement, said in a statement.
In guidance posted after the legal decision in August, Airbnb told New York City hosts that they should either register with the city or convert to hosting long-term stays if possible.
The company also said any existing short-term reservation with a check-in by December 1 would be allowed to go forward, with processing fees refunded, while those with check-in dates after that would be cancelled and refunded.
Airbnb’s global policy director, Theo Yedinsky, called the rule changes a blow to “the thousands of New Yorkers and small businesses in the outer boroughs who rely on home sharing and tourism dollars to help make ends meet”.
“The city is sending a clear message to millions of potential visitors who will now have fewer accommodation options when they visit New York City: ‘You are not welcome,’” he said.
