Illegal Airbnb Renters in New York Now Subject to $7,500 Fine

NEW YORK, NY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday signed the strictest bill in New York's history against Airbnb renters, imposing fines of as much as $7,500 on people who rent out rooms in their apartments. The bill applies to rentals of less than 30 days when the owner or tenant isn't actually in the apartment.

New York City passed a bill in 2010 that made renting out rooms in apartments illegal, but it has been tough to enforce. The bill signed Friday adds fines if the renter is outed to the city by a landlord or neighbor.

There is a fine of $1,000 for the first offense, $5,000 for the second and $7,500 for the third.

Supporters of the bill said people who rent out their rooms using Airbnb take money away from the New York hotel industry, limits the supply of affordable housing options and bring in outsiders who are often loud and disruptive into otherwise calm communities.

"Today is a great day for tenants, seniors, and anyone who values the safe and quiet enjoyment of their homes and neighborhoods," Sen. Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat, said in a statement Friday. "For too long companies like Airbnb have encouraged illegal activity that takes housing off the market and makes our affordability crisis worse."

Airbnb representatives argued people who rent out their rooms using the service are mostly middle-class people looking to make some extra money, and to impose the hefty fines on them would be unfair.

The company fired back on Friday, filing suit against the city, Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, according to The Real Deal. Schneiderman wasted little time in responding to the lawsuit.

"The law signed today will provide vital protections for New York tenants and help prevent the continued proliferation of illegal, unregulated hotels, and we will defend it," Schneiderman said in a statement. "Airbnb can’t have it both ways: it must either police illegal activity on its own site — or government will act to protect New Yorkers, as the State just did."

Cuomo's representative said the governor ultimately decided to sign the bill because the Airbnb activity was already banned by the 2010 law.

It's not clear how many fines will actually be imposed. There were around 45,000 Airbnb listings throughout the New York City metropolitan area in August. An October 2014 study by the New York City attorney general found that 72 percent of private short-term rentals on Airbnb violated the 2010 law.

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