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New York State will now fine those who rent out homes and apartments illegally:
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill into law that will fine residents who rent out their apartments for illegal short-term stays, striking a blow against Airbnb in one of its most important markets. Airbnb said it would file a lawsuit immediately to block the measure. The fines for those who advertise vacant apartments in a multi-unit building for 30 days or less could be as high as $7,500 for repeat offenders. Airbnb has acknowledged this rule is ignored by thousands of members. People are allowed to rent out a room in their house or apartment while they are also staying there, however.
The law will also fine residents for simply advertising an illegal rental listing. Airbnb tried to offer concessions to prevent the bill from passing. Also at ABC, ConsumerAffairs, and Reuters.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by AthanasiusKircher on Sunday October 23 2016, @02:18PM
I'd emphasize the following line from TFS:
People are allowed to rent out a room in their house or apartment while they are also staying there, however.
Just my personal opinion, but this seems like something close to common sense to me. A lot of these services have been represented as a more organized "couch-surfing" or "home-sharing" system. This legislation apparently won't disallow such things, which people have been doing forever.
The problematic aspect of things like Airbnb is what happens when you allow unoccupied apartments to be treated as "hotel rooms." There are all sorts of things that start happening (and have started happening), like people who buy up houses or rent out apartments in the city -- where housing is already ridiculously expensive -- to treat as "hotel rooms." That makes it harder for people who actually need to LIVE in the city longterm to find affordable housing.
Also, we generally have things like zoning laws for a reason. I've lived in apartment complexes. I would NOT want to live in an apartment complex where I was surrounded by de facto hotel rooms. Sure, most people who stay in hotels are fine, but the stats for complaints, minor crime, etc. are always worse for hotels than long-term residential areas.
A lot of this stuff can be mitigated by requiring owners to be around. It doesn't solve everything, but it seems like a common-sense way to prevent some major problems and have someone around to deal with them if they do arise.
I'm not going to comment on the "freedom" issues here. Maybe folks should be allowed legally to rent short-term even if they're not present to whomever they want. I'm just saying that personally I don't want to live in places where that's common.