Airbnb increases restrictions in New York
The Big Apple imposed a series of legal rules on the lodging app.
New York ordered the popular hosting platform, Airbnb, a new regulatory framework that prohibits, among other things, rentals for less than 30 days. Otherwise, tenants must stay with the hosts and the latter must be registered in a registry list in the city.
Another strong instruction is that landlords may not have more than two guests at a time, which restricts room rentals.
This is the “Short Term Rental Registration Law,” which addresses the challenges that have been generated by the overflowing growth of the tourist rental industry of this type.
Although the legal document will come into force next Tuesday, September 5, it has already generated debate about the consequences it would bring on tourism, home rentals and the real estate market in the great metropolis.
The app claims that once the newly created rule comes into force, during the first week about 5,300 bookings would be affected.
Airbnb has 38,500 registered apartments in New York, through which it generates revenues of $85 million annually.
For now, the limitations apply only in New York. It is possible that the measure marks a turning point around the economic and social problems related to the platform.
Postponement of the rule
Airbnb sued New York in June and succeeded in postponing to September 5 the implementation of the legislation that sought to regulate the short-term rental business.
However, Judge Arlene Bluth, in a state court in Manhattan, dismissed the company’s claim, considering it “rational” for the city to require hosts to register and monitor the legality of the accommodations it offers, something the company went so far as to call a “de facto veto” on its activity, according to local media.
Airbnb’s director of global policy, Theo Yedinsky, criticized the decision in a statement to the media and said the impending restrictions will hurt tourism and thus residents of “non-downtown neighborhoods who rely on home sharing” to make ends meet, and nearby businesses.
According to Airbnb’s lawsuit, short-term rentals in New York City alone accounted for $85 million in net revenue in 2022. The company had revenues of $8.4 billion in the fiscal year.
Airbnb’s latest financial results, released in early August, in the second quarter of 2023 the company had a record number of active accommodations, 7 million worldwide, and made a profit of $650 million, up 72% year-on-year.