Most Airbnb NYC listings deemed illegal

NEW YORK — Nearly three-quarters of the New York City listings offered by the short-term rental service Airbnb violate city or state laws, New York state’s attorney general charged Thursday.

A report released Thursday by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman also charged that many of the listings are placed by commercial operators running illegal hotels, not by New Yorkers renting out a spare room.

In one instance, Schneiderman said, a single commercial user made $6.8 million.

The report is based on data obtained by Schneiderman’s office as a result of a May 2014 subpoena. It examined New York City Airbnb bookings between Jan. 1, 2010, and June 2, 2014.

During that time, the report said, 25,532 of 35,354 private, short-term listings — 72 percent — violated state or city laws.

It is generally legal to rent out a room while the homeowner or tenant is present, but many listings violated city zoning laws because the legal resident of the unit was away when the Airbnb client stayed there, a spokesman for Schneiderman said. Some listings violated state tax laws, he said.

Airbnb said in a statement that it has helped “countless” families pay their bills and stay in their homes and has removed more than 2,000 of the New York listings that violated state or city laws.

“We need to work together on some sensible rules that stop bad actors and protect regular people who simply want to share the home in which they live,” the company said.