Measure to curb illegal Airbnb listings heads to NY governor

New York State legislators on Friday passed a bill banning the advertisement of short-term rental units.

“This is a bad bill driven by the hotel industry that will actually exacerbate the affordable-housing crisis, achieving the complete opposite of what its drivers claim it’s meant to do”, said Airbnb spokesman Peter Schottenfels. Andrew Cuomo’s desk, prohibits online apartment listings under 30 days.

“Airbnb facilitates the creation of a black market for illegal and unsafe commercial rental properties that don’t follow any of the same regulations as legitimate hotels and negatively impact the residential real estate market by driving up rent and diminishing housing supply”, said Vijay Dandapani, the chairman of the Hotel Association of New York City, in a statement.

For the first violation, offenders would be fined $1,000, then $5,000 for the second and $7,500 for the third, according to Gothamist.

Airbnb is a massively popular service in New York City.

Two of its more prominent investors, actor Ashton Kutcher and Silicon Valley investor Paul Graham, took to Twitter to express their disapproval of the New York Senate’s passage of the bill.

The growth of Airbnb and its impact on the NY lodging industry has always been a contentious topic.

For about as long as Airbnb has been around – and before it became extremely popular – NY state has had a law on the books regulating short-term rentals. In January, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) released a study alleging rampant illegal activity among Airbnb’s most prolific hotels, especially in cities such as NY. It permits having boarders or renting rooms. He called it “a bad proposal that will make it harder for thousands of New Yorkers to pay the bills”.

The company, founded in 2008 and valued at over $25 billion, estimates that it contributes about $60 million in taxes to the state of NY.

Up to 31,000 people in NY could be evicted or foreclosed upon if Cuomo signs the bill, Airbnb said.

“I think other communities will take a look at how this goes in NY and consider emulating it”, he said.