New York City's Backlog in Host Registrations
06.12.2023 - 04:27
/ skift.com
/ Srividya Kalyanaraman
New York City’s Office of Special Enforcement has approved only 257 out of 3,250 short-term rental host registrations before the September 5 enforcement deadline. Around 25% of the host applications submitted so far, or 808 applications, have been reviewed.
Starting September 5, hosts could face fines of up to $5,000 or three times the revenue for a third violation, and their registrations could be revoked. Over 3,250 applications came after August 8, following a court’s dismissal of an Airbnb lawsuit challenging the registration rules. The city has denied 72 applications and returned 479 for corrections.
The city aims to collaborate with booking platforms to ensure they use the city’s verification system and halt unverified transactions. Around 10,157 landlord applications for a prohibited buildings list, indicating where short-term rentals are banned, are being processed. The list informs the city of rental agreements that already ban short-term rentals and will be used to deny registrations for hosts in those buildings.
New York City’s Short-Term Rental Registration Law, set to be enforced from September 5, mandates hosts to be present during stays, limit reservations to under 30 days, and disallows door locks on shared space bedrooms. Platforms like Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com must verify approved host registrations and file monthly transaction reports, facing fines for violations.
Earlier this month, A New York judge dismissed Airbnb’s lawsuit against New York City over legislation it called a “de facto ban” against short-term rentals. State court Justice Arlene Bluth in Manhattan said it was “inherently rational” for the city to require that hosts register with a local agency, as a means to reduce the thousands of illegal short-term rental listings.
Scottsdale, Arizona is taking steps to regulate short-term rentals to meet neighborhood concerns.
The city unveiled three propositions aimed at curtailing the proliferation of short-term rentals within neighborhoods. These propositions have been submitted to the Arizona League of Cities and Towns, with the hope of integrating them into the legislative agenda for the upcoming 2024 Arizona Legislative session.
Over the past year, several cities in the Phoenix metro area have revamped regulations pertaining to short-term rental proprietors. These changes encompass requirements such as obtaining a city-issued license for each property, conducting background checks, including for sex offenders, on guests, and maintaining liability insurance. These proposals are a means to restore the quality of life in Scottsdale neighborhoods prior to the legislative action that lifted the city’s previous ban on short-term rentals.
Yescapa and Goboony, campervan and