Short-term rentals in New York City have been the source of controversy for more than a few years.
On January 9, 2022, New York City adopted Local Law 18, also known as the Short-Term Rental Registration Law. The law requires short-term rental hosts to register with the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement (OSE) and the OSE to maintain a Prohibited Buildings List. The OSE issued its final rules to implement Local Law 18 on February 3, 2023 which took effect March 6, 2023 and will begin enforcement of the law in July 2023. This law affects buildings, including co-ops and condos, that wish to prohibit short-term rentals and anyone who wishes to host short-term rentals.
Registration is now open
Registration is now open and applications for both short-term rental hosts and the Prohibited Building List may be found on New York City’s Short-Term Rental Registration Portal
The Prohibited Building List
The Prohibited Building List will be comprised of buildings where short-term rentals are prohibited, either by the leases and occupancy agreements for the building or by law. Owners can add their buildings to the list by notifying OSE that short-term rentals are prohibited in their building and are encouraged to apply for their registration as early as possible. The owners must certify that leases and other occupancy agreements for dwelling units within their buildings prohibit short-term rentals and provide the following information:
- The name, phone number, and email address of the person making the application
- The address of the building the applicant seeks to add to the list
- An explanation of the relationship between the owner and the applicant (any board of a cooperative or condominium corporation, manager, or agent can submit the application)
- Any proof or documentation requested by OSE to substantiate the request where OSE has cause to require further verification
The prohibition must apply to the entire building, and the law requires the OSE to deny host registration requests for any building on the list.
Short-Term Rental Registration
Anyone hosting rentals of a dwelling unit for less than 30 days must register with the OSE. The law does not apply to “Class B” multiple dwellings, such as hotels, rooming houses, boarding schools, and dormitories, where short-term occupancies are already permitted. Short-term rental hosts are encouraged to apply for their registration as early as possible and determine the legality of their short-term rental by reviewing their building’s legal occupancy, lease or rental agreement, and state and city laws, and seeking legal advice when necessary.
- Applicants must be a natural person who is both a permanent occupant of the dwelling unit and either the legal owner or tenant of the dwelling unit and must certify that they understand and agree to comply with provisions of the zoning resolution, multiple dwelling law, housing maintenance code and New York city construction codes relating to the short-term rental of dwelling units.
- The application must adequately describe the accommodations that will be used or occupied, and details about any booking service used.
- The OSE must verify the occupancy classification of the building and the dwelling, that the building does not appear on the Prohibited Buildings List, and that there are no violations in accordance with the records of the department of buildings, the department of housing preservation and development and the fire department.
- Applicants must pay an application or renewal fee.
Booking service platforms such as Airbnb will be prohibited from processing transactions for unregistered short-term rentals, and there will be penalties for both hosts and booking services who fail to comply with the requirements.
The foregoing is not intended to be comprehensive nor constitute legal advice. If you would like to discuss your specific circumstances or would like more information, feel free to contact us at (212) 625-8505.