- Rosenberg & Estis, P.C. Newsletter || Volume 1 (Full PDF)
February 2017
Newsletter Exclusive Article:
Hot Topic: The Recently-Enacted Anti-Airbnb Law
Alexander Lycoyannis has been featured in several media sources for his expertise in the legal landscape surrounding short-term apartment rentals and the resulting effect on New York City. Lycoyannis wrote an article for the Commercial Observer entitled “The New Anti-Airbnb Law: An Overview,” where he explains that a new law signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in October, 2016 supplements a 2010 state law that had banned most apartment rentals for fewer than 30 days.
The original 2010 law was not enforced effectively, as evidenced by the success of Airbnb in New York City since that law’s passage. However, the new ban could be a game-changer, Lycoyannis says: “The new law makes it illegal for anyone to advertise the use of an apartment in a manner that would violate the 2010 law; in other words, most advertising for apartment rentals lasting fewer than 30 days.
The law specifies that anybody violating the new law faces civil penalties of up to $1,000 for the first violation, up to $5,000 for the second violation, and up to $7,500 for the third and subsequent violations. The new law took effect immediately.” The aggressive new law is beginning to prompt New York City hosts to remove their apartments from the Airbnb website, and even induced Airbnb to file a federal lawsuit (later dropped when it became clear that the new law would be enforced against hosts only, and not Airbnb itself).
In an article entitled “Inside The NYC Airbnb Controversy – Hosts Pressure Mayor For Law Reform,” Alec Berkman of Bisnow relies on Lycoyannis’s expertise to conclude that “limiting the stock of relatively cheap accommodations could be a double-edged sword, potentially helping New Yorkers but curbing tourism, one of the city’s biggest revenue streams.”
To read more on this issue, follow links below:
“The New Anti-Airbnb Law: An Overview”
“Inside The NYC Airbnb Controversy – Hosts Pressure Mayor For Law Reform”