Thousands of Airbnbs and short-term rentals are on their way out of New York City.
Local Law 18, which went into effect on Tuesday, is so tight that it not only limits how Airbnb functions in the city, but it effectively bans it for many visitors and hosts. All short-term rental hosts in New York must now register with the city, and only those who live in the apartment they’re renting — and are there when someone is staying — are eligible. People are only allowed to have two guests.
Gone are the days of elegant downtown apartments decorated for bachelorette parties, nice two- and three-bedroom apartments near museums for families, and even the opportunity for people to rent out their apartment when they’re gone on weekends. While Airbnb, Vrbo, and others can continue to operate in New York, Airbnb regards the new laws as a “de facto ban” on its operation.
Short-term rentals can cause noise, waste, and danger, as well as drive local residents out of their own communities. Some New York landlords are prolific, with hundreds of Airbnb listings. Other New Yorkers with Airbnb listings, on the other hand, are trying to make ends meet by leasing their property while they’re away or renting half of a duplex to help cover their mortgage bills.
Airbnb is also popular with some of the 66 million tourists every year looking for cheaper and sometimes larger rooms than hotels. Short-term rental listings in New York alone made $85 million in 2022. The city may represent a small portion of Airbnb’s global market, but the new rules demonstrate how local governments may effectively eliminate short-term rentals overnight and reduce their impact on dense residential neighborhoods. And New York is just one of many cities across the world attempting to quell the gold rush of short-term rentals.
And everyone has a different strategy. To avoid noisy and unsafe gatherings, Dallas has restricted short-term rentals to select neighborhoods. Short-term rental licenses are currently required in the Canadian province of Quebec and Memphis, Tennessee, among other places. The period of time someone can offer their complete property for rent on Airbnb in San Francisco is limited to 90 days per year; in Amsterdam, that limit is 30 nights per year, and in Paris, it is 120 days. Berlin had previously prohibited nearly all Airbnbs, but reversed its decision in 2018.
Airbnb’s attempts to contest the new law have so far been futile. The corporation filed a lawsuit against New York City in June, but the case was rejected in August by a judge who said that the limits were “entirely rational.” Airbnb has not stated if it will appeal the judgment. Hosts are also lobbying for the ability to list their properties as short-term rentals, meeting with city officials in an attempt to modify the law.
