Travelers planning to visit New York City may find it harder to book an Airbnb.
The city will begin enforcing its Short-Term Rental Registration Law on Sept. 5, requiring short-term rental hosts to register with the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement. The law, which was adopted in January 2022, could significantly reduce visitors’ choices when it comes to lodging.
“It seems clear to me, based upon the current speed at which the city is processing applications for hosts, that a lot of supply will drop out of what’s currently available,” said Sean Hennessey, clinical associate professor at the NYU School of Professional Studies Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality.
Here’s what to know.
What are the rules for short-term rentals in New York?
The new city law is aimed at cracking down on short-term rentals. It requires hosts to acknowledge and comply with regulations and forbids booking platforms like Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com from processing transactions for those that are unregistered.
“You cannot rent out an entire apartment or home to visitors for less than 30 days, even if you own or live in the building,” OSE said on its website. “This applies to all permanent residential buildings.”
Hosts can only offer short-term rentals if they remain with their guests in the apartment or unit. They are also prohibited from having more than two paying guests at a time, among other rules.
“There are penalties for both hosts and booking services who fail to comply with the requirements of the law,” OSE said.
Properties with Class B status are exempt from the registration requirement, but OSE said homes and apartments are unlikely to fall into that category. “Most residential buildings that people can rent or own to live in full time are not Class B multiple dwellings,” the office said on its website, noting that the class includes accommodations like hotels, boarding houses and others.
Earlier this month, a New York judge dismissed lawsuits filed by Airbnb and three hosts over the rules, saying the restrictions were “entirely rational.” Supreme Court Judge Arlene P. Bluth said such a system will help identify many illegal short-term rentals before they’re listed on the Airbnb platform.
The city received nearly 12,000 complaints regarding illegal short-term rentals from 2017 to 2021. Housing advocates have said listing whole apartments on the platforms deprives the city of supply.
“It has long been our goal to work with New York City to create sensible home-sharing regulations for our host community, and for the better part of the last decade, we have worked hard to find a path forward,” Theo Yedinsky, Global Policy Director for Airbnb, told USA TODAY in an emailed statement.
“New York City’s new short-term rental rules are a blow to its tourism economy and 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,” he added. “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.”
OSE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
How will the law impact travelers?
Not only will travelers be unable to book unregistered properties, but existing reservations could also be in jeopardy. Because the city has a “huge backlog” of applications, they may not be able to get approval in time, according to Hennessey.
The city’s OSE had approved 141 registrations as of late July, Crain’s New York Business reported. Nearly 250 were sent back to applicants for more information, and 29 were denied. An additional 1,300 had been submitted.
Some listings may also drop out of the market entirely because they don’t meet the requirements, Hennessey added. While hosts will likely share any updates with guests, he said it would be “prudent” for travelers with upcoming reservations to proactively reach out to rule out any disruptions.
Airbnb – which Hennessey said is the dominant booking platform of its kind in New York – stopped accepting short-term rental reservations for hosts that had not provided the platform with a registration number this week but will not cancel existing bookings through Dec. 1.
The law could pose other challenges for travelers, too.
Group travel could get more complicated, forcing visitors to rent multiple hotel rooms instead of one multi-room Airbnb, for example, Hennessey said. Visitors may also encounter higher prices for remaining listings and other accommodations as the short-term rental supply dwindles.
“So, that is going to make New York City somewhat less attractive or less affordable as a vacation destination,” he said.
Contributing: The Associated Press
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.
Source : USAToday
