On Tuesday, a new law came into force in New York City, requiring all short-term (less than 30 days) rental hosts to register with the city. And only those who live in the place they are renting, and are present during the rental period can qualify to make those rentals. There is also a limit of two guests. Link to the Wired article here.
Airbnb has called the legislation a "de facto ban" of short-term rentals in New York City.
In truth, there was already a law on the books preventing short-term rentals (30 days or less) of entire apartments in New York City. But that law was difficult to enforce (according to Inside Airbnb, there are currently 40,000 Airbnbs in NYC). Apparently the requirement of the registration of each short-term rental will be effective in enforcing the law.
Airbnb says it is canceling and refunding reservations in unregistered accommodations from December 2 onwards, but those up until December 1 can remain in effect to lessen the impact on hosts and guests. Guests won't be penalized if they book and stay in an unregistered rental, but hosts and the platforms they advertise on could be as of September 5.
Airbnb also says unregistered stays were blocked from future bookings past September 5 as of August 14, but a search showed dozens of entire apartments for more than two people still available to book beyond September 5. These listings should not pass New York's registration requirements for short-term rentals.
