Thousands of New York City listings on Airbnb will soon be wiped out as the city prepares to implement stringent regulations on short-term rentals.
Airbnb will have to abide by New York City’s new law after a state judge dismissed the vacation home-sharing platform’s lawsuit challenging the “de facto ban” against short-term rentals.
In 2021, the city passed a new law to curb illegal short-term rentals. The law requires all hosts to register with New York, and stays of fewer than 30 consecutive days will not be permitted unless the hosts are present.
In June, Airbnb said the law sends a message that potential visitors are not welcome in the city and sued New York City, stating that the law requires hosts to comply with the “maze of complex regulations.”
State Supreme Court Justice Arlene Bluth dismissed Airbnb’s lawsuit and said it was “inherently rational” for New York City to mandate hosts to register with an agency to cut down thousands of illegal short-term rental listings.
Requiring Airbnb to verify listings would be a “very simple way” to ensure that the company no longer enables and profits from illegal activities, Bluth said.
Citing data that New York City had received around 12,000 complaints about short-term rentals between 2017 and 2021, she said, “Clearly, respondents have identified a major problem and these rules attempt to address that issue.”
Despite claiming that several listings would have to be removed from its platform, Airbnb has not provided any proof or modified bookings for stays after the law was supposed to take effect, Bluth said.
The new law was supposed to be implemented in early July but was postponed till September 5 to allow both parties the opportunity to brief the issues before the court.
In its lawsuit, Airbnb said the new regulation was “extreme and oppressive” and clashed with a federal law that has protected many tech platforms from liability for content uploaded by its users.
New York City is one of the Airbnb’s most profitable markets. According to a recent report, Airbnb’s net revenue in 2022 from short-term rentals was $85 million in the city. As of January 1, Airbnb had 38,500 active listings in the city.
“New York City’s 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,” Reuters quoted Theo Yedinsky, global policy director, Airbnb as saying.
New York City is among other cities in the U.S. to implement such restrictions on short-term home rentals. Listings declined in Santa Monica, Boston and San Francisco after similar requirements were made to register homes with the cities.