Short Term Rentals

NYC Short-term Rentals

Posted on | by sebastian

For years, New York City issued violations and costly penalties to property owners who illegally rented out units for short-term rentals.

AirBnB unsuccessfully sued the city in order to operate without impunity. In September 2023, New York City’s Local Law 18, restricting short-term rentals went into effect. The local law requires hosts to register with the Mayor’s office of Special Enforcement (OSE), prevents listings for stays shorter than 30 days and requires hosts to be present during guest stays.

Under Local Law 18, property owners can place their units on a “do-not-register” list that would prevent tenants from illegally posting their apartments without permission. AIrBNB is required to verify that all of the information provided by its hosts in NYC is accurate otherwise they will be subject to fines.

Hosts must register their unit with OSE. The rentals are limited to primary residences. Only properties with a valid certificate of occupancy for residential use can register. For buildings built prior to 1938, when certificates of occupancy became a requirement, a Letter of No Objections or Letter of Verification will be accepted. The hosts, owners, or tenants cannot rent out an entire apartment or home for fewer than 30 days. This applies to all permanent residential buildings regardless of the number of units. Legal short-term rentals require that the host is living in the same unit or apartment as the guests.

Other requirements for compliance with Local Law 18:

  • Unit must have a legal listing
  • Host must file with OSE and be approved before listing can go live
  • the space the host is registering must be legally approved for residential use.
  • host can rent to not more than two guests.
  • the property must have a certificate of occupancy or letter of no objection.
  • The property must not have violations for the space to be registered
  • S & M Expediting can help with the registration process so that you avoid being issued violations with huge fines. Give us a call to find out if your property can register with OSE.