It has been more than a year now since New York enacted Law 18, which in most cases bans whole apartment rentals for short stays on platforms such as Airbnb. The law was created with the aim of countering the housing crisis. Now a new bill submitted to the New York City Council could help loosen strict regulations on Airbnb short-term rentals. In fact, according to expert industry analysts, these severe restrictions contribute to the phenomenon of rising hotel prices in the Big Apple. In addition, hotel supply is limited due to the fact that hoteliers face rising costs related to services and insurance, and thousands of rooms are being made available to accommodate migrants.Under the current regulations, those who want to offer short-term rentals in the city with Airbnb must be registered with the municipality, live in the dwelling being rented, and be present during the stay of guests, who must be no more than two.
Theo Yedinsky, Airbnb’s vice president of public policy, argues that instead, incentivizing the ability to offer short-term rentals for property owners in New York City would allow people to leverage their homes as an economic asset while having the effect of keeping rental prices lower. According to Jonathan Miller, of real estate firm Douglas Elliman and author of the New York City Rent Reports, recently and especially in Manhattan, there has been an increase in the supply of long-term rentals “as costs continue to rise,” he says.
