Airbnb could lose 10,000 listings in New York in 2023 under new rules

More than 10,000 Airbnb listings for short-term rentals in New York are likely to disappear when tough new housing rules go into effect next year, said the Adams administration official responsible for enforcing the rules. future regulations.

The rules, which are to be implemented Jan. 9, will require all Airbnb hosts in the city to register their units with Mayor Adams’ Office of Special Enforcement.

Additionally, Airbnb will be barred from processing payments for hosts who don’t register — and the office’s executive director, Christian Klossner, said the requirements will eliminate thousands of illegal listings in the five boroughs that are currently advertised on the platform.

“About 10,000 active listings offering illegal occupation will either be taken down or brought into compliance,” Klossner said in an interview Friday.

As of this week, there are nearly 40,000 Airbnb listings in the city, according to data from Inside Airbnb, an independent monitoring group.

Klossner spoke to the Daily News ahead of a key public comment hearing scheduled for Monday, which will be the last chance for supporters and opponents to air their views before the rules are finalized.

Airbnb strongly opposed the rules. In a statement, the company said it will result in a “draconian and unenforceable registration system that will prevent legal and responsible hosts from listing their homes.”

On a public comment site maintained by the Mayor’s Office of Operations, more than 150 people have over the past month testified. Many testimonies come from New Yorkers who fear that the new rules will make it more difficult for them to rent their accommodation through Airbnb.

“It’s the kind of despicable bureaucratic act that makes me want to leave this once great city,” commented Aron Watman, who identified himself as an Airbnb host in Brooklyn.

Under current law, only New Yorkers are allowed to rent out part of their home for short-term use, not the entire unit.

Hosts must also, under current law, reside in their apartments while renting parts of them on a short-term basis, which is defined as less than 30 days, which means it is illegal for anyone one to temporarily sublet his house while on vacation.

[ NYC sues Manhattan slumlord over short-term rental scheme fueling city’s housing crisis ]

However, Klossner said thousands of Airbnb hosts are currently able to circumvent these restrictions due to a lack of oversight.

“It’s unfortunately very easy right now to break the law,” Klossner said.

He said that would change with new registration requirements.

Under the proposed new rules, short-term rental hosts must provide Klossner’s office with the full legal names of all residents of a given unit, as well as proof of the unit’s permanent status, such as a lease. Hosts must also certify that their rentals comply with local building codes, zoning requirements, and safety regulations.

If hosts don’t provide the required information to the Klossner office, they won’t receive registration credentials — and Airbnb will be prohibited by law from processing payments to them.

If it processes payments for unregistered hosts, Airbnb could face fines of $1,500 per violation, under the new rules. Hosts who rent unregistered units could be fined $5,000.

“The registration system will have a very significant effect,” Klossner said. “This will allow hosts to know for sure what is legal and what is not, and reduce the scale of enforcement to a level where the focus can be on the remaining people determined to try to find a way around the law.”

Monday’s latest public comment hearing comes as the city remains in a housing crisis, driven by a sharp decline in the production and preservation of affordable apartments over the past year.

In July, while announcing a trial against an alleged short-term rental landlord, Mayor Adams said the housing crisis had been exacerbated by apartments being used as illegal Airbnb operations instead of permanent residences.

“Our administration is committed to preserving affordable housing, and cracking down on illegal short-term tenants is one way we accomplish that,” he said.