Airbnb Files Lawsuit Against New York City’s “De Facto Ban” on Short-Term Rentals

More and more city councils across the United States are passing ordinances to regulate short-term rentals. In some cases, these ordinances require hosts to obtain a license and pay registration fees, or limit the number of short-term rentals in business districts.

Airbnb’s complaint to the New York State Supreme Court says the New York City Council, through legislation passed in 2022, effectively implemented “its most extreme and most oppressive yet, which functions as a de facto ban on short-term rentals in New York City.”

Airbnb, in a letter to hosts, said “the complaint filed today comes only after exhausting all possible avenues to find a reasonable resolution with the city.”

The law, according to the filing, will make it more difficult for hosts to operate, requiring them to register with the New York City Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement (OSE) and certify that they will abide by “the maze of regulations complexes” for zoning, the Multiple Dwellings Act and the Dwelling Maintenance Code, and the building code.

The short-term rental company is asking the court to block the application of “Local Law 18”.

The OSE’s review of applications will ensure “that only a miniscule number of hosts will be granted registration,” Airbnb said in its petition.

The OSE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Airbnb said that in the first week of July, more than 5,500 short-term rentals were booked to accommodate more than 10,000 hosts in New York City.

The company said in its filing that an earlier law, which took effect in 2021, caused 29,000 hosts to leave the short-term rental market in New York. Airbnb’s annual net income in New York City in 2022 was $85 million, according to the fill.