NEW YORK — State Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal said she plans to introduce legislation in early January that could slap anyone who illegally rents their apartment on Airbnb with fines of up to $7,500 — even as the company says her proposal would hurt working New Yorkers.
The state’s Multiple Dwelling Law mandates that apartments meant for permanent residential housing can’t be rented for fewer than 30 days unless the primary resident is present during the rental.
But Rosenthal says unscrupulous property managers have been routinely renting unoccupied apartments on Airbnb, effectively turning apartment buildings into illegal hotels.
“Airbnb provides a platform for bad actors to violate the illegal hotels law,” Rosenthal told DNAinfo New York Wednesday, adding that the process is “substantially changing the housing market in New York City” by commercializing units that should be open to locals.
Rosenthal’s law — which was first reported by the New York Daily News — would impose fines starting at $500 per violation on anyone advertising an illegal rental properties on Airbnb or elsewhere. The fines would go as high as $7,500 per violation for repeat offenders, she said.
The bill would also require landlords to inform tenants about legal and illegal uses of their homes, something she said Airbnb doesn’t do, though the company’s website does include an explanation of the Multiple Dwelling Law.
State Senator Andrew J. Lanza will sponsor the bill’s Senate version, said Rosenthal’s Chief of Staff Lauren Schuster in an email.
But in a Dec. 21 letter to Rosenthal, Josh Meltzer, Airbnb’s New York Head of Public Policy, said the proposal would “unfairly hurt the middle class” by penalizing “New Yorkers who share their space when they are merely out of town for the weekend.”
Citing data released by the company on Dec. 1, Meltzer challenged the idea that Airbnb is a haven for commercial renters, stating that 95 percent of New Yorkers posting apartments on the site control only one property.
Meltzer also argued that a $7,500 fine far exceeds penalties for other residential violations, such as the $100 fine landlords receive for failing to make smoke detectors available, or the $500 fine they get for not providing working heat.
And he said company numbers show that 72 percent of New York’s Airbnb renters use the money they earn to help cover their own rental expenses.
Rosenthal, however, said she didn’t believe Airbnb’s statistics. She said she has examined its local listings extensively, and that earlier this year, she used the site to easily uncover Manhattan rentals that were controlled by commercial agents.
The lawmaker added that comparing her proposed fines to those for other violations was "meaningless."
"If they really care, they will take down all the illegal listings from their site," she said.
An October 2014 study conducted by New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman estimated that 72 percent of New York City's short-term Airbnb rentals posted between January 2010 and June 2014 were illegal.
Disagreement over Rosenthal’s legislation is just part of a larger regulatory battle between New York lawmakers and Airbnb. Despite standing law, Meltzer’s letter implied that it should be legal for individuals to rent their apartments while they are away for short periods.
“Airbnb is committed to working with New York’s elected officials to fight illegal hotel operators who turn dozens of apartments into hotel rooms,” Meltzer wrote. “We have repeatedly advocated for rules that would allow people in New York City to share only the home in which they live and we remain eager to work together to achieve this goal.”
