Airbnb Sues New York City Over Short-Term Rental Restrictions

The tourist accommodation platform Airbnb sued the city of New York on Thursday for the restrictions that it will apply from July on its short-term rentals, which require hosts to register with the local administration.

New York, which is one of Airbnb’s main markets, passed a law last year whose rules will begin to be enforced on July 1 with the objective of regulating the short-term rental business and stopping illegal activities at a time when the great tourist city is suffering from a housing crisis.

The company argues in its lawsuit, seconded by a group of hosts, that the new measures constitute “a de facto ban on short-term rentals” in the city and that they will “drastically” reduce available rentals.

Airbnb said its preference is “to work with the city on a regulatory framework that differentiates between New Yorkers who share their space responsibly and illegal hotel operators.” but it has had to “stand up” after “exhausting all available paths to a sensible solution.”

Many hosts have complained that the local administration’s registration system is so “complicated” that it makes it “almost impossible” to get the green light to operate, and, according to the lawsuit, Airbnb expects only a “tiny number” to get it.

Apart from that, New York imposes other measures described as “punitive and burdensome”: forbids the hosts to put internal locks on the doors of the rooms, or rent entire apartments where they will not be present for reasons such as travel.

In a separate lawsuit, the hosts add that the measures also violate their right to privacy, as they are required to provide “sensitive” information about their home, and they are “unfairly forced to understand a complicated web of legal codes.”

Airbnb said it is pending whether the administration or the court “changes the current date” of application of the measures, and next Tuesday it will guide its clients on the consequences of the restrictions on reservations after July 1.