New York City's Short-Term Rental Regulator To Grant a Registration Delay

After the city's registration restrictions go into effect, platforms and hosts will have some breathing space in the beginning.

Even though the deadline for hosts to register as legal operators of short-term rentals in New York City passed, many postings can still be found on sites like Booking.com, Vrbo, and, to a lesser degree, Airbnb.

Booking.com was advised by New York City officials over the phone that the Office of Special Enforcement would not crack down on platforms that were cooperating with the city to become compliant in the beginning stages of their operation.

The NYC Public Advocate's Office has also assured certain hosts that the OSE would not be fining unregistered providers in the early days of the new guidelines unless the offences are "egregious," such as lodging big groups without a permit.

On September 5, the last day for registration, Booking.com's API interface with the city is expected to go live, but it won't be completely functioning for a few days. With the necessary API, Booking would be able to provide the Office of Special Enforcement with data on its New York City landlords in order to verify their credentials. Both platforms and hosts risk hefty penalties for failing to comply.

Only 257 of the 3,250 host requests submitted to the OSE have been accepted as of August 28. According to data compiled by AirDNA, Airbnb, the leading provider of short-term lodging in New York City, has around 9,500 open listings of shared accommodations.

Hosts who will be present throughout their visitors' stay are allowed to sign up to take in no more than two guests for a total of fewer than 30 days. Locks on bedroom doors are not permitted.

When compared to the other two major short-term rental booking sites, Airbnb seems to be the most prepared for September 5. Given its prominence in the industry, it also stands to lose the most.

Airbnb has announced that starting of September 5th, booking calendars will be unavailable for owners who have not yet registered with the company and for hosts of whole houses in the city except the stays are 30 days or more, in which case enrolments are not required.

Booking.com showed 144 full houses and flats for the 7-14 of September in New York City, all of which looked to be in violation of the new regulation.

On Vrbo, a search yielded an inconsistent quantity of full-house rentals. However, Vrbo is not particularly well-known in New York City.

 

Source: skift.com