Curtains for Airbnb?
Tougher NYC restrictions taking effect in Jan.
New York City is pressing ahead with a long-anticipated crackdown on Airbnb hosts, with officials on Friday proposing a strict new registration system for hosts that will take effect in January.
Under proposed rules that were quietly and unexpectedly made public on Friday — which will, among other things, prohibit hosts from renting out an “entire registered dwelling unit” — Airbnb hosts will be required to submit diagrams of their apartments as well as proof that their listings are permanent residences.
Hosts also will be required to list the “full legal name of all permanent occupants of the dwelling” as well as their relationship to the host. They also will have to provide their leases if they are renting and to certify that they understand all the zoning requirements, building code regulations and other issues associated with “multiple dwelling law,” according to the 30-page document.
If hosts fail to comply, they can be fined up to $5,000 under the new rules, while Airbnb and other platforms are required to verify the rental on their systems and could be on the hook for a $1,500 fine per violation.
Last year, the City Council passed the registration law, but little was known about the details and requirements, which will become effective Jan. 9 and be enforced by May 9. City officials will hold a hearing on the rules Dec. 5.
While a handful of other cities, including Boston and Santa Monica, Calif., have similar registration requirements, the New York rules are far more restrictive — and could put a major crimp into how hosts currently rent out their apartments, according to sources familiar with the rules.
Among the requirements, said the source, is one that bars hosts from putting locks on doors that separate the guest from the host.
“It feels like there are a lot of traps,” said a source with direct knowledge of the regulations.
It’s the latest salvo in the fraught relationship between New York City and Airbnb, which has long pushed back on the city’s efforts to regulate the industry. Meanwhile the city blames Airbnb, in part, for its housing shortage.