USA: Airbnb Opposes Proposal To Prohibit Owners From Advertising Illegal Units

Airbnb opposes proposal to ban hosts from advertising illegal units, warns that it would hurt middle class families

Airbnb is fighting back against a bill to ban advertising of illegal units, saying it would treat home-sharers worse than landlords who turn off the heat.

After media reported about the legislation, the company fired off a letter to Assembly bill sponsor Linda Rosenthal (D-Manhattan) grousing that the up to $7,500 per violation fines she is pushing would hurt middle class city residents looking to make extra money.

Landlords who don’t provide smoke-detectors are fined up to $100, while those who fail to provide heat to tenants can be fined up to $500 a day, the letter says.

The company, though, did say it would work with the Legislature to crack down on those who create commercial operators “who turn dozens of apartments into hotel rooms by offering up numerous listings on the home-sharing site.

“Rather than seeking to impose fines that could lead to bankruptcies, evictions and foreclosures of New York families struggling to make ends meet, we believe we should be working together to address illegal hotels,” the letter states.

Rosenthal called the letter “almost laughable if it weren’t so tragic.”

“Airbnb is really helping big commercial operators, not middle class families and those big commercial operators are robbing the middle class of affordable housing,” she said.

Rosenthal and Senate bill sponsor Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island) plan to push the bill banning hosts from advertising short-term rentals in the legislative session that begins in January.

Cutting the ads should drive down the illegal short-term rentals since it will be tougher for people to find out about them, Rosenthal said.

While state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman last year said 72% of Airbnb rentals in the city are illegal, the company says the number is far lower.

“At a time when economic inequality is a defining issue, we believe we should be looking for ways to support the right of middle class New Yorkers to share what is typically their greatest expense, the cost of their housing, and generate supplemental income,” the company said in its letter.