New York has decided to toughen its offensive against Airbnb, accused of accentuating the severe housing crisis hitting the Big Apple. Very strict rules already existed, but the town hall had not given itself the means to enforce them. It is now done. For stays of less than thirty days, owners no longer have the right to rent an entire apartment, must be physically present in the accommodation when their visitors stay there and cannot accommodate more than two people.
Since September 5, a new law requires hosts to register in advance with the municipality if they want to rent their property for less than a month. As for the platforms – Airbnb in the lead, but also Booking.com or VRBO – they must verify the validity of the registration number and transmit to the city monthly data relating to accommodation and the activities of landlords.
Those who do not respect these rules face a fine of up to $5,000 (4,740 euros) in the event of a repeat offense, and platforms face penalties of up to $1,500 per illegal transaction. Result: on Airbnb, between August and early September, the number of short-term listings fell from 22,400 to 6,800, a drop of 70%, according to the site Inside Airbnb, which campaigns against San’s platform Francisco by documenting his activity around the world.
At the end of August, the municipality indicated that it had granted 257 registration numbers out of 3,250 requests. She has not communicated on the subject since. For tourists who have already made a reservation with an expected arrival before 1er December, the stay will be maintained, Airbnb said. After this date, it will be canceled and refunded.
A price explosion
Faced with a housing shortage, the Democratic city of New York hopes to bring these apartments back into the traditional rental circuit. Since the pandemic, prices have exploded, and finding a rental for a decent amount is a feat. In August, an apartment in Manhattan – from studios to four-room apartments – was rented at an average monthly price of $5,550 (+5.8% over one year) and in Brooklyn, highly sought after for its “browstones” – these small houses typical multi-storey houses with garden – $4,400 (+10.6% over one year), according to real estate firm Douglas Elliman.
The town hall also highlights the nuisances caused by short stays which the neighborhood frequently complains about. For its part, Airbnb denounced the rules “punitive and restrictive”, which return to “a de facto ban on short-term rentals” in the city. She challenged them in court but was dismissed in August. “I think, unfortunately, the situation in New York is not going to be resolved for a long time,” lamented, on September 21, on the CNBC channel, the co-founder and general director of the platform, Brian Chesky.
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