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Governor Cuomo Bans Airbnb From Listing Short-Term Rentals In New York (nypost.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from New York Post: Gov. Cuomo on Friday bowed to pressure from the hotel industry and signed into law one of the nation's toughest restrictions on Airbnb -- including hefty fines of up to $7,500 for people who rent out space in their apartments. Backers of the punitive measure -- which applies to rentals of less than 30 days when the owner or tenant is not present -- say many property owners use Airbnb and similar sites to offer residential apartments as short-term rentals to visitors, hurting the hotel business while taking residential units off the Big Apple's high-priced housing market. Enforcement, however, will be a huge challenge, as thousands of short-term apartment rentals are listed in the city despite a 2010 law that prohibits rentals of less than 30 days when the owner or tenant is not present. Violators could be turned in by neighbors or landlords opposed to the practice, or the state could monitor the site to look for potential violations. But beyond that how the law would be enforced was not immediately clear. The new law won't apply to rentals in single-family homes, row houses or apartment spare rooms if the resident is present. But will apply to co-ops and condos. Airbnb mounted a last-ditch effort to kill the measure, proposing alternative regulations that the company argued would address concerns about short-term rentals without big fines. Tenants who violate current state law and list their apartments for rentals of less than 30 days would face fines of $1,000 for the first offense, $5,000 for the second and $7,500 for a third. An investigation of Airbnb rentals from 2010 to 2014 by the state attorney general's office found that 72 percent of the units in New York City were illegal, with commercial operators constituting 6 percent of the hosts and supplying 36 percent of the rentals. As of August, Airbnb had 45,000 city listings and another 13,000 across the state.
Forgive my Saturday school house rock education but each state is has the same separation of duties as the Federal government, don't they?
Sounds like an overreach of the Executive branch in NY.
..that new tech threatens it
It's easy to see the old school fighting back
I love new tech! but I recognize that it's an imperfect work in progress that I strongly believe will improve
The idea that people should be free to conduct business seems to be foreign to NYC. And has anyone bothered to actually confront how many issues this opens up? A girl stays with me for three weeks. Who gets to question me about why she is with me? Is she a relative, a friend, a sex partner or a health aid as I am an older man? Who exactly assumes the privilege of questioning me? Further, if cash changes hands with no receipt, how is proof established? Can i pound on the door of a neighbor i do not like and grill him about exactly why someone stayed with him overnight and can i legally prove that someone actually did stay overnight? Who defines overnight? I had a girlfriend who lived in a condo. I alway left about 4am. I rode a motorcycle that was banned from overnight parking. They were smart enough never to call a tow truck. If they had i would have sued them into the dirt. People almost never think of the consequences of writing rules or laws.
So how is this new law different to the existing law?
"Tenants who violate current state law and list their apartments for rentals of less than 30 days would face fines of $1,000 for the first offense, $5,000 for the second and $7,500 for a third."
This will be easy to get around...people will just list the property for a 30- or 60-day rental and have a $20 "early move out" or "cancellation" fee. So the "renter" will book it for 30 days, leave after a week, and pay a small, affordable "penalty" since they didn't stay the full 30 days.
And the owner will say, "I rented it for 60 days but they left after a week, what could I do?"
(I'm not saying this is right, just that this is what they'll do to get around the restriction.)
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
Their own property is called Communism.
The government big enough to give you everything you want, is also big enough to take away everything you have.
But, hey, at least, abortions are still legal — is not that comforting?..
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
Liberal bowing to big business. You suckers in NY should just keep taking it up the backside
NY is the largest NAZI state when it comes to personal property... What I do with my private property is between me and who I rent to! I will not stop using AirBnB! People of NY need to wake up and realize this kinda law invades and needs to be overturned!
Why does everybody want to put George Clinton in prison. You can just stop listening to P-Funk, no need to put people in jail here :(
take away everything you have.
Tell us more about how zoning restrictions AIMED AT PRESERVING PROPERTY VALUES is "taking away everything you have"
Those fancy expensive New York apartments are fancy and expensive BECAUSE they outlaw transient dwellers, and the owners LIKE IT that way.
DUH
that's okay us liberals will drag your neanderthal asses into the 21st century
With or without proper use of punctuation?
So you are cool if I setup a car recycling business(aka a junk yard) next door to your house, right? It's my property over here, right? What about the motor oil lake I want on the property too? You cool with that? Oh and I'm going to setup a lead smelter so I can recycle all of these damn car batteries, sound good to you? It's my property over here, so fuck you.
Try this idea that you can do whatever you want with your private property after you turn your apartment into a meth lab. See how it works out.
I'm in favor of AirBNB being in my city.
As long as they aren't in my building.
even landlords can't do whatever they want with their properties. I dunno why you think its that simple.
Real estate have community value far beyond just their material one. We treat them specially in a lot of ways...you have neighbors who have right too, people have rights to homes, tenants have rights. This isn't the bullshit taxi cartel we're talking about here. This shit can make or break people's lives.
Do whatever the fuck you want... as long as you live... if you live. There is a need for places for people to live. If you have built a means to that end, and refuse with others like you en mass, the government *has to* do something about it regardless of your ideology or the government's. Eventually it has to give in to reality, the fact that people need a fucking roof over their head you piece of shit lame ass excuse for a human being.
Notice, you can still rent out a space if you're there. You just can't horde a bunch of space without actually building or becoming a hotel, which has their own set of regulations to protect people who stay there, etc. etc. etc. etc.
If you don't want to be a part of civilization, get the fuck out.
Rent controls cause this situation.
When landlords can not raise rents to match economic conditions, they are forced to find new revenue streams.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
I wonder how much "campaign contributions" this cost the hotel industry. This is profit protectionism at its best, you don't see any landlords complaining about this. Those that do care already have no sub-leasing as part of their agreements.
Under a reasonable legal system I should be able to sue you for ruining my property value (and my air, for that matter). There's no need for a specific law for every possible annoyance. That way, the owner can make sure whatever he puts on his property won't annoy his neighbors. If he lets quiet, normal people stay, that should be fine. Now it's just a case of the government building a moat around the hotel business.
"No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session." -- Judge Gideon J. Tucker
Force to enforce the Law. Th execute of the state of New York is what a wus?
Forced to charge those with breaking the law with breaking the law?
Como is not issuing edicts. These are the Law of the Land.
Can they both lose? The sooner we get rid of NY State and AirBNB the better.
Then yes.
Under the legal system you call for, it's your own fault for living next door to an oil lake and lead smelter. You should have picked better neighbors. Also since it's not illegal in your system to have an oil lake in your property, you can't sue anyone for it either.
What a truthful answer. Also, I happen to agree with you. I live in a condo where the rules are very specific about rentals and guest registration ( basically rent out your place 1 time a year, and renters guest have to have a criminal background check ) . Airbnb brought about people for holiday ( I live a 20 minute walk to the beach ) which are here for holiday ( have fun, have parties, have joy ) and are rather interesting lot of people, mostly good but many have little property or neighbor respect.
I was tasked to weed out this issue. Which I did with great vigor, and resolved all. The biggest problem is; Confrontation of an owner, they forgot that they acknowledge that they read the condo rules. which are clear about short term rentals. and with the gentle reminder that legal department charge both parties and that I would win at the end, it would cost them their condos ( a condo lien last until sold or foreclosed, but at the end, it's paid in full to the association ).
I would advise all, if you buy a vacation home, make sure that you read the condo rules and are clear about short term rental, there is viable reason why my building is priced at a 15% to 30% discount to a liberal rental policy buildings.
if you see me, smile and say hello.
Kind of hard to do that from inside a gas chamber, isn't it?
The state has banned its cities from banning AirBnB. This move is generally popular but has been controversial in some towns because of the possibility that, as is feared in NYC, that short-term rentals would cut into the supply of "affordable" housing. In AZ, we're not concerned about low-income housing - in fact we hate it when the feds ram Section 8 developments down our throats - but we do want rentals that our baristas and tour guides can afford.
My thought: if the AirBnB model works as an incentive for homeowners to rent nights to tourists, wouldn't there be an even bigger market for the same kind of startup to simplify renting by the month to service workers?
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Hotels are hurting the rental business. A ban on hotels would boost the rental business. Banning one business by arbitrary deciding it isn't a business is not a good plan. What's next? banning autonomous Tesla car rentals because it hurts taxi "business"? Or banning taxis because it hurts autonomous car sale business?
Once again am American politician shits all over one of the ideals on which your country is apparently built; 'freedom.'
Although, I suppose "freedom to engage the corrupt services of an elected official to protect your out-of-date business model" is s type of freedom?
Requiem for the American Dream
I for one would never have visited New York during my US stay, have lived with a local, bought goods from local Harlem businesspeople, eaten at multiple restaurants, shopped at local supermarkets, paid entrance fees at local landmarks, as well as national ones... All in all you are saying goodbye to income going to local people, in the local communities, for what? to protect the hotel and lobby fatcats in your town?/state.... I actually spent a considerable amount of money, but off course only locals pocketed that money so it doesn't count or what ? And when I return to the US again... Well I guess New York will not be where I spend my money too bad and saddening to see this trend spreading all over the world. One can't help but ponder upon the forces and motivation behind.
With payment of a fee that is disclosed only when the renter books the date.
People of NY need to wake up and realize this kinda law invades and needs to be overturned!
The people of New York State do realize this. Unfortunately they are out voted by the scum of New York City. That wretched hellhole needs to be nuked of the map.
Every weekend it's a parade of loud people stomping, smoking, and waking up half the building coming in drunk after 1AM.
The legal tenant doesn't live there, just rents out each room (including the living room and a large closet which he stuffed a bed in). He has a 2BR up as 4 listings. He changes his name and profile pic every few weeks.
My LL knows about it, but seems unwilling or unable to do anything about it--proving things is hard and evictions are expensive (so are vacancies).
For each of you that believes Airbnb is wonderful, just imagine living under it when it's full of inconsiderate people and no amount of trying to reason works because after a day or two they'll never see you again, then tentant is never there, and your LL simply accepts the noise complaints and then says "well, the noisy guests are gone now" time after time.
"just move", yep that's $2500 in real estate broker costs, plus movers, plus moving truck permit fees, etc, etc...
I'm happy to see these laws and hope other large cities follow along--including penalties to landlords that turn a blind eye.
How are you going to sue without government regulation? If you don't want any elites telling you what to do, then we end up descending to the law of the jungle. If your friendly neighbourhood lead smelter has a bunch of hire goons, you're SooL...
Got them moderator blues I blieve I walk out the do', With these mod-points I been gettin', I 'most never post no mo'
Your picture, your government issued id, your credit card, and the reviews you get as a guest, all of this keeps the "scorched earth" guest a statistical anomaly in airbnb. In reality, if airbnb is in your building the most likely impact is simply that you'll see a few people you don't know enter and leave your building, sometimes with luggage. Which probability, almost definitely, already happens.
Where, exactly, is the theft in renting the property?
Technically, copyright infringement isn't theft. Offering TV at a negative price to cable Internet subscribers is tying or dumping, not extortion. And in the same way, owner-absent short-term sublets are evasion of hotel tax, not theft. But morally, tax evasion could be thought of as like a theft from the other residents of the state, who have made a decision through their elected representatives to tax a particular behavior.
Joe Sixpack rents a place, but then he "has to cancel" and leave early *cough*. He pays the owner an "early-termination penalty", and then the owner would, of course, relist the room to be rented.
Where is the crime, and how would anyone prove that anything illegal had occurred?
The proof is that the property's owner failed to document good cause for early termination with more than three-fourths of the lease term remaining by five out of six sublessees of the same property. An allowance for "good cause" isn't a bright line, I'll grant, but it's like the difference between an excused absence from school in states with truancy laws and an unexcused absence.
Is called corruption. If the local government told you, you had to rent a room would you accept that, no. Then why accept their favor of hotel corporations over you.
Meanwhile Cuomo will be getting nice campaign contributions (bribes).