NYC's Prohibited Buildings List receives nearly 1,500 applications from property owners

New York City and Airbnb have long had a difficult relationship with one another. Over the past years, the city adopted different measures that put limits on Airbnb listings. Although New York has one of the strictest short-term rental regulations, this city remains Airbnb’s biggest market after Los Angeles. 

On March 6, New York City launched a new registration portal for short-term rental hosts and property owners. This portal accepts applications from hosts looking to register their listing with the city and property owners wishing to ban short-term rentals in their buildings. The latter options saw a lot of interest from NYC landlords.

In the first four days, the newly launched portal received 1,474 applications from co-op and condo building owners requesting the city to put their properties on the Prohibited Buildings List, Crain's New York reports. Landlords wishing to add their properties to this database must prove that leases and other occupancy agreements for residential units within their building prohibit short-term rentals.

The short-term rental registration portal is the direct result of Local Law 18, also known as the Short-Term Rental Registration Law. It took effect on March 6, 2023. The law requires short-term rental hosts to register with the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement (OSE). So far, 52 hosts have submitted their applications to register with the OSE. 

Under the new law, Airbnb and VRBO cannot process payments for unregistered listings. In addition, short-term rental hosts would also face fines if they fail to complete their registration. The city’s effort to combat illegal short-term rentals received support from property owners and the real estate industry but faced criticism from hosts. The city is estimated to lose about 10,000 Airbnb listings due to new regulations. 

 “We’re pleased to support the implementation of Local Law 18, which will help improve enforcement of illegal short-term rental activity," REBNY told Crain’s New York. "REBNY has already begun encouraging members to access and utilize the city’s new registration portal as part of this important effort.”

Resources:

“Nearly 1,500 buildings ban Airbnb and other short-term rentals,” by Cara Eisenpress (Crain’s New York, 2023)

“NYC's Prohibited Buildings List banning short-term rentals goes live,” by Jennifer White Karp (Brick Underground, 2023)