Airbnb and several of its hosts sued New York City on Thursday to stop officials from enforcing “extreme and oppressive” registration requirements — claiming the tough new rules could effectively put Airbnb out of business in the Big Apple this summer.
The San Francisco-based home-sharing site is fighting a law that took effect in January and is slated for enforcement beginning in July which requires hosts to register with the city, certifying that their homes comply with complex building, zoning and other codes.
Penalties for hosts who fail to comply include fines of up to $5,000, according to a complaint filed in state court in Manhattan.
The regulation also requires hosts to submit diagrams of their apartments and provide a list of residents in their homes. Airbnb, meanwhile, must certify that all of the information is accurate or be subject to fines of up to $1,500 per violation.
The new regulation amounts to a “de facto ban against short-term rentals…and is intended to drive the short-term rental trade out of New York City once and for all,” according to Airbnb’s complaint.
“It is a near impossibility for lay New Yorkers to certify compliance…with a maze of complex regulations,” the suit added.
Airbnb along with three hosts are asking a court for injunctive relief.
“Airbnb will have to cancel thousands of reservations in NYC over the summer and the city will be the Grinch that stole summer,” Karen Dunn, a lawyer for the home-sharing giant, said at a press conference at City Hall.
Hosts are also not allowed to put locks on guests’ bedroom doors or to rent out their homes while they are on vacation, according to the rules.
The registration process is so onerous, hosts say, that only nine New Yorkers have been approved to rent out their homes as of May 3. That’s out of a pool of at least 38,500 Airbnb hosts who have rented their homes on the platform at least once since January, according to the Airbnb complaint.
Those nine hosts account for just 0.05% of Airnbnb’s $85 million in revenues from short term rental listings in New York City, according to the complaint.
Big Apple officials don’t appear to be backing down.
“This administration is committed to protecting safety and community livability for residents, preserving permanent housing stock, and ensuring our hospitality sector can continue to recover and thrive. The rules governing short-term rentals, codified in both city and state law, have been clear for years,” city officials said in a statement.
“The short-term rental registration law was duly adopted by the City Council, and [the mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement] implemented rules pursuant to the law. We have consistently worked with hosts and platforms to ensure they were aware of their requirements under the law. We will review the lawsuit,” the statement added.
The city has long battled with Airbnb, accusing the company of violating short term rental laws and not cracking down on bad operators. It has blamed Airbnb and its competitors for contributing to the city’s affordable housing crisis and has tried to force Airbnb to disclose more information about its hosts.
Airbnb sued the city in 2018 in response to its efforts to get data about its hosts.
New York City hotels and the union that represents hotel workers have also clamored for stricter rules on home sharing sites, arguing that the companies are not held to the same safety standards as the hotel industry.
Led by founder Brian Chesky, Airbnb is also under pressure from some of its “super hosts” who are increasingly building their own platforms to rent their properties directly to consumers, essentially cutting Airbnb out of the transaction, as The Post reported.
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