2023-09-05 23:11:15
The city of New York will start this Tuesday to apply a series of restrictions on short term rentals that the tourist accommodation platform Airbnb consider is a “de facto” ban on their activity.
The new regulations requires all hosts to register with local authoritiessince New York prohibits the rental of entire apartments for less than 30 days when the owners are not present, but this type of business often does not respect it.
“The city is sending a clear message to millions of visitors in power that they will now have fewer options to stay in New York: you are not welcome“Airbnb’s director of global policy, Theo Yedinsky, said in a statement shared with EFE.
A spokeswoman for the platform further explained that the New York regulations are an anomaly even among the cities that have decided to regulate tourist apartments, such as Los Angeles or San Franciscowhich do allow the hosts to offer their apartment without them being present.
He also argued that Airbnb has spent years trying to work with authorities to address the problem of illegal apartments, but that the city has decided to pass “new rules that create a ‘de facto’ ban on short-term rentals.”
The spokeswoman questioned whether the measures can help reduce rental prices in the Big Apple, suffering from a housing crisis. He also recalled that no city accounts for more than 1.5% of Airbnb’s revenue, not even New York, where more than 40,000 tourist apartments are offered.
Airbnb demand
In June, Airbnb sued the city and managed to delay the entry into force of the restrictions for a few months, since the regulations were expected to begin to be apply on July 1.
However, a judge dismissed the lawsuit last month, finding it “rational” that the authorities want to control the legality of the apartments offered.
In a message on its website, the platform regrets that your claim was dismissedand reminds its hosts that as of today they have two options: register with the authorities or increase the time they offer their accommodations to more than 30 days.
However, Airbnb will not cancel reservations already made beginning before December 1. Those that start after December 2 and do not comply with the regulations will be canceled and the money will be returned to the guests.
According to The New York Times, the city estimates that about 10,000 Airbnb apartments in 2022 were fraudulent.
Related news
As in other cities around the world subjected to tourist pressure, New York authorities believe that this proliferation of tourist apartments contributes to higher rental prices for permanent residents and aggravates the housing crisis in the city.
Despite the news, the Airbnb shares on the New York Stock Exchange rose 7% half an hour after the start of operations.
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