The New York City Council passed Local Law 18 in January 2022 regarding registration of short term rentals, which Local Law became effective on January 9, 2023. Pursuant to Local Law 18, booking service platforms such as Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com and others that collect a fee for short term rental listings will be prohibited from processing transactions for unregistered short-term rentals in the City of New York. The New York City Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement (OSE), which is in charge of enforcing Local Law 18, has completed its rule-making process and has published the final regulations now available on its website. The OSE regulations take effect, and the registration process will begin via the OSE webpage, on Monday, March 6, 2023.
Particularly relevant to Rosenberg & Estis, P.C. clients who are residential owners, managing agents, cooperatives and condominiums is Local Law 18’s establishment of a “Prohibited Buildings List” (the “PBL”). Inclusion of a particular property on the PBL prevents prospective short term rental hosts from registering a housing accommodation based on the owner or its agent’s statements.
Once the OSE registration page goes live on March 6, 2023, owners or their agents should be prepared to register their properties on the PBL on the OSE website by providing the following information: a) The name of a natural person making the application; b) A working phone number for the applicant; c) An email address for the applicant; d) The address of the building the applicant seeks to add to the list; e) An explanation of the relationship between the owner and the applicant; and f) Any proof or documentation requested by the administering agency to substantiate the request where the administering agency has cause to require further verification. The applicant must also certify that leases and other occupancy agreements for dwelling units within the building prohibit short-term rentals.
Owners and managing agents should also be aware that the PBL is intended to automatically include, without any registration by the owner whatsoever, all buildings that are precluded from short term rental registration based on Local Law 18 and Section 21-08 of the OSE rules (i.e., NYCHA housing, rooming units, rent stabilized apartments, rent controlled apartments or other categories of regulated buildings including those subject to the Private Housing Finance Law). Owners are advised to periodically check the PBL to ensure their rent regulated properties are included.
Clients should also be aware that the monetary fines and penalties in connection with violations of Local Law 18 will not take effect until May 9, 2023.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your trusted Rosenberg & Estis, P.C. attorney or Adam Lindenbaum, Member of the firm’s Litigation Department, who authored the above.