Crain's has some perspective on the challenge ahead for the city to enforce this.
The number of potentially illegal Airbnb listings was 23,639 as of April, according to data from the company, though a portion of those ads could be for a stay in a single-family home or another type of dwelling exempt from the legislation. But based on current rates, it would take the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement 43 years to run down those potential violations.
At least for now, hosts with only one listing have a slimmer chance of being caught, and according to Airbnb's site, 96% of hosts fall into this category. Since they stand to earn $750 a week on average, paying off the fine might not prove to be much of a deterrent.
The Daily News reported that the East Village resident was getting $446 a night for her city-subsidized affordable co-op on Sixth Street.
Then ask people that stay there to assist in saying who is violating the rules or not. Very simple. "Come to NYC and if you stay in an illegal Airbnb rental and YOU tell us about it. Through added fines, the Airbnb host will have to refund you 150% of the cost of your stay. So simple to stay in NYC and earn money."
ReplyDeleteWithin a week, they would know who is and who isn't breaking the law and would have evidence to support it... and for free, not 43 years...
43 years??? Hells yeah! Vacancy right here! Just give me a sec to tidy up, and figure out a nightly rate and what not.
ReplyDeleteI am tired of hearing about how this is helping families meet their financial needs. I wonder how many of these AirBnB rentals are primary residences and how many are second residences. If they are secondary residences then the people doing this should be pursued to the fullest extent of the law--they are keeping an apartment from being rented (even if it may seem extravagant to some people--it should be available for rental).
ReplyDeleteGo to your landlord. In general they hate tenants making money off of them. I did. And I got rib of the AirBnBs..
ReplyDeleteThat is a great idea 1:41pm!!
ReplyDeleteThis lady is fortunate enough to have the city (you and me)subsidizing her rent and it become an opportunity for her to turn around and profit from the situation. I hate greedy landlords and this is no better.
Quick question. What exactly constitutes a "continental breakfast" and could I get away with not serving one?
ReplyDeleteWhat a load of shit.
ReplyDeleteYou wanna stop AirBNB dead in its tracks? You, the landlord, monitor your property, catch people trying to rent it out, provide only one set of keys per apartment etc.
It is the landlord who has the monetary motive to enforce this law. Neighbors are merely inconvenienced or made less safe or bothered by noise. If the city really wants to enforce the law, they could do so by paying the public a finders fee to anyone calling in or emailing a tip on a violator.
DeleteWhat's unfortunate is that it didn't have to be this way. Years ago I worked with a property management company to help identify apartments and take offline apartments and get the ads taken down. Listing an apartment was a violation of a signed lease. About 60% of them were business as usual, the other 40% were hospitality companies renting apartments for a wide range of purposes that conflicted with the community. They ruined it for the other 60%.
ReplyDeleteWe tried working with AirBnb to create a system where landlords could submit addresses that the system would reject. AirBnb wouldn't even entertain the idea of finding a solution that worked for all parties involved. It was their way or nothing.
I don't feel bad for them in the least and as a consumer I wouldn't use a service that's going to land me in court for an extended period of time.
Now that's gaming the system......renting out your subsidized apartment!
ReplyDeleteSo make the fines higher. Much higher.
ReplyDeleteIn proportion to the number of months of illegal renting.
So the wanna-be hotelier loses all their profits and more.
Then: Use some of this income to subsidize affordable housing for actual residents of this city.
- East Villager
It should be a $1000 fine per night of illegal rental.
ReplyDeletePeople, people this was not a rent stabilized apartment, this was an HDFC coop. HDFC coops are supposed to be affordable housing. In this case despite bringing this to the attention of the coop board by neighbors, nothing apparently was done.
ReplyDeleteThe HDFC coops are corrupt, figured out how to get around the system. The coops are pretty much market rate at this point in the trendy East Village. As despicable as it is, many long time shareholders have the gall to comment on RE developers, landlords and whatever, as destroying the neighborhood, when they are doing the same thing. I think the best we can do, is to look out for the neighborhood and file complaints. If you are in a regular coop, take care of your own building. Mayor de Blasio needs to enforce restrictions on HDFC coops now, for whatever is left that is affordable.
ReplyDeleteRenters, lots a luck.
Consider the venues involved with these two slags who got fined.
ReplyDeleteThe one in Trump Tower. Considering that the owner and proprietor is the treasonous figurehead/president of the USA, using her luxury pad as a motel with different strangers coming in and out is a homeland security risk. Who knows who her clients were and where were they were from? Corrupt wealthy Russians immediately or gangster international LLC partners come to mind.
And the one who was using public housing to enrich herself. Turning a place that should have housed a middle class or working poor family into some trendy hot spot night club. And there must have been collusion with either other tenants or public officials because she did illegal renovations to her apartment to make these accommodations easier. I don't know how long she was a resident, but it's clear that using it for Airbnb was the intent.
I knew this 1000 fine was a mere pittance to these fiends. Jail should be considered along with heavier fines and expulsion from the building.
Airbnb is a criminal enterprise
Anybody know if the Kushner rentals prohibit airbnb?
ReplyDelete