New York Bans Airbnb's Short-Term Rental Listing

(Source: Internet)

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law October 21 a bill to make it illegal to advertise entire unoccupied apartments for less than 30 days on Airbnb, according to multiple reports. Cuomo had until October 29th to sign the bill, but until today the governor’s office had been mum on the legislation. Airbnb loudly opposed the measure, spending USD 10 million on a campaign to defeat its passage.

Airbnb says it will sue to block the law from going into effect, according to the Times-Union. The company has retained the law firm Gibson Dunn, which is currently suing the state of New York to block a wage increase for fast food employees.

Airbnb first threatened to sue last month, claiming the bill was "unlawful" and would "impose real harm on the community." But then two days ago, the Silicon Valley home-sharing giant said it was considering some concessions. It's unclear whether the governor's office accepted any of those changes.

Airbnb proposed limiting hosts from making more than one listing in an effort to weed out property owners who opt to list multiple properties, making them unavailable to those seeking permanent housing. Housing activists have repeatedly said that this practice drives up the already high rents across New York City and reduces the supply of affordable housing.

Airbnb has been accused of exacerbating New York’s housing crisis by housing advocates, the state’s powerful hotel union, and members of the state legislature and New York City Council. Some unscrupulous landlords have been known to push out their tenants, many of them low-income, so they can turn their apartments into illegal hotels, which they advertise on Airbnb.

Last year, the New York attorney general released a report that found that from 2010 through early June of 2014, USD 168.3 million, or 37 percent of revenue generated by Airbnb hosts, came from hosts with three or more listings.