NEW YORK – The New York City Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement (OSE) has secured more than $ 1.2 million in settlements from three illegal short-term rental lawsuits, the agency announced on Wednesday.
All three lawsuits involved short-term rental operations and other illegal uses of the city’s housing for private gain, and the operators illegally made hundreds of thousands of dollars while taking much-needed rental units off the market, including rent-stabilized apartments. .
“Illegal short-term rental operations take many forms, but OSE is here to hold owners and operators accountable for their actions and to preserve homes for New York City families,” said Christian Klossner, CEO of the Office of Special Compliance.
A $ 516,000 settlement was settled in a lawsuit against owner and operator Rose King, which is roughly the amount of money King generated through the rentals of Airbnb. King created more than 30 host accounts for Airbnb that he used to advertise and operate illegal short-term rentals in at least a dozen of the 60 residential housing units located in three buildings in the city. Lower East Side from Manhattan.
“Today’s settlements send a clear message that illegal hotels will not be tolerated in our city and those who operate them will be punished,” said City Council Speaker Corey Johnson. “I am proud that the Council voted to strengthen the Office of Special Enforcement to make it easier to find violators of the law. Illegal hotels are a nuisance in our communities and take away affordable housing at a time when we desperately need it. I thank the Office of Special Compliance for their work on this issue, as well as the Mayor’s administration and my colleagues on the Council for their strong commitment to putting these illegal hotels out of business. “
In a separate case, the city obtained a $ 700,000 judgment against Big Apple Management LLC, which allowed illegal short-term rentals on dozens of apartments in seven buildings in the heart of the neighborhood Hell’s Kitchen of Manhattan, and the owners of those buildings. The agreement with Big Apple Management it also consists of a permanent injunction and covers more than 90 units in the seven buildings sued by OSE, as well as five separate buildings with 33 apartments that were not part of OSE’s lawsuit.
The city also reached an agreement with SoHo Lofts NYC LLC, a company that was one of the defendants in a case related to illegal short-term rental activity in four apartment buildings of the East Village. The building’s owners, 219 Av A NYC, allowed a variety of illegal uses to displace permanent residents, including allowing SoHo Lofts negotiated “coexistence” agreements in more than 10 units in the four buildings, some of which were rent stabilized. SoHo Lofts were found to be operating units that had been illegally converted into multiple sub-units and were advertised as rentals “in the most desirable neighborhoods in Manhattan.”
The SBI settlement of the city’s claims against SoHo Lofts It consists of a permanent court order and a settlement payment of $ 10,000. SoHo Lofts it also agreed to provide the city with access to its entire rental apartment portfolio so that the city can investigate whether the company currently owns additional rent-stabilized apartments. If the city finds that SoHo Lofts is occupying rent stabilized units, it has to vacate those apartments and return them to the housing market within 30 days of the agreement.
New York City law prohibits the use of permanent residential units for rentals of less than 30 consecutive days, and state law prohibits advertising such use when the units are in a Class A multiple dwelling (3 or more units). Short-term rentals in which a host stays with up to two short-term guests generally do not violate these laws, although they may violate other laws, leasing provisions, and building rules.
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