iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — New York has passed a law that will make it hard for Airbnb to do business in one of the rental company’s largest markets.
It is now illegal in New York to advertise property rentals on sites like Airbnb, expanding on an existing law that prohibits tenants and landlords from renting out their units for less than 30 days.
Anyone found violating the law could face a $7,500 fine from the local government.
“This is an issue that was given careful, deliberate consideration, but ultimately these activities are already expressly prohibited by law,” a spokesman for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. “They also compromise efforts to maintain and promote affordable housing by allowing those units to be used as unregulated hotels, and deny communities significant revenue from uncollected taxes, the cost of which is ultimately borne by local taxpayers.”
Airbnb said it would file a lawsuit immediately in response.
“In typical fashion, Albany back-room dealing rewarded a special interest — the price-gouging hotel industry — and ignored the voices of tens of thousands of New Yorkers,” Josh Meltzer, head of Airbnb’s public policy, said in a statement. “A majority of New Yorkers have embraced home sharing, and we will continue to fight for a smart policy solution that works for the people, not the powerful. We are filing a lawsuit in New York this afternoon.”
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