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Airbnb Offers To Change Its Ways In NY As Cuomo Racks Shotgun

Rebecca Fishbein

Published Oct 19, 2016

Modified Oct 19, 2016

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Jake Dobkin / Gothamist

Rebecca Fishbein

Published Oct 19, 2016

Modified Oct 19, 2016

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Governor Cuomo has until the end of the month to sign a bill that would make it illegal within the five boroughs to advertise whole apartments for fewer than 30 days on Airbnb. That move will essentially kill the controversial home rental company's business in New York, and in a last-ditch effort to save themselves, Airbnb announced a bunch of new policies today, including one that would prevent hosts from listing more than one unit on the site. Still, some lawmakers remain unswayed

Airbnb outlined what they're calling a "proposal" in a memo and op-ed today, presenting five new measures they hope might make Albany rethink the Multiple Dwelling Law of 2010 that prohibits tenants and landlords from renting whole apartments for under 30 days. The first proposal would require people renting their apartments to have only one home within the five boroughs; it would also prohibit short-term rentals in public housing and limit short-term rentals in rent-stabilized housing.

The second proposal would mandate a registration system for short term rental hosts, one that Airbnb claims would make it easier for housing regulators to weed out bad actors. Other proposals include "providing landlords with the opportunity to set clear rules for short term rentals in their buildings"; imposing a "three strikes" policy that would kick a host off the site if they broke rules; and requiring host to pay all local and state lodging taxes.

On a conference call today, State Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, who co-authored the rental law Cuomo's currently sitting on, argued that Airbnb's "entire business model is predicated on breaking the law," and that this is an "11th-hour" effort to stay in NYC. "We do not negotiate," Rosenthal said, pointing to research that's shown rent spiking dramatically in neighborhoods where Airbnb has thrived. "Their expansion robs the city of desperately needed units of affordable housing," she said. "Our focus is on protecting hardworking families and affordable housing in this city. Airbnb and other sites like it are responsible for the loss of thousands of units of housing here."

Rosenthal also criticized the new "three strikes" policy, noting that it would give commercial operators two more chances to break the law than is currently allowed. "It's really preposterous," she said. "We're not making a deal here. We have a '1 strike, you're out' policy here."

State Senator Liz Krueger, who also joined in on the call, claimed that Airbnb has attempted to impose similar regulations in cities like San Francisco and elsewhere, but they haven't done anything to alleviate those housing crises. The host registration systems, she argued, have failed, since hosts don't always register, and the rules are rarely enforced.

"This is not anything new. This is the model they've been attempting in various places all over the world," she said. "New York saw what was going on early, and were proactive and didn't fall for a bunch of PR stunt non-enforceable protections. Other cities around the world are coming to talk to us to ask, 'How do you stop this?'" She added, "We're trying to make sure that here in New York, we have a mechanism for enforcement. "

She also noted that having New Yorkers pay business tax when renting their apartments—which is one of Airbnb's new regulations—would be "proof positive" that they were violating their leases, making it easier for landlords to evict tenants. Airbnb, she argued, doesn't advertise that it's illegal for tenants to rent whole apartments without being present in their homes, and doesn't care if tenants are evicted for violating the law, even though "it's very easy for platform computer companies to do pop-up screens specific to locations" that would alert users to local laws. But Krueger says Airbnb's making so much money off illegal rentals, they don't want to curb the activity.

"They unfortunately don't face liabilities themselves. They're not the ones who get punished when someone gets evicted from their home," she said. "State and local lawmakers can put rules in and enforcement in to stop bad activity, but Airbnb is making money off of encouraging it."

Airbnb, for its part, has long argued in favor of changing local law to allow hosts to rent out the entirety of their primary residences for short periods of time, rather than requiring a host to be present during the Airbnb stay. Rosenthal says the state does not plan on changing the law.

Governor Cuomo has until October 29th to sign the new bill.

Tagged

airbnb

governor cuomo

rental laws

Rebecca Fishbein

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