New York has decided to step up its offensive against Airbnb, which is accused of exacerbating the severe housing crisis hitting the Big Apple. Strict rules already existed, but City Hall hadn't given itself the means to enforce them, until now. For stays of less than 30 days, landlords are no longer allowed to rent out an entire apartment, must be physically present in the property when their visitors are staying there and may not accommodate more than two people.

Since September 5, a new law has required hosts to register with the city if they want to rent out their property for less than a month. As for the platforms – Airbnb first and foremost, but also Booking.com and VRBO – they must check the validity of the registration number and transmit monthly data to the city relating to stays and landlords' activities.

Those who fail to abide by these rules are liable for a fine of up to $5,000 (€4,740) in the event of a repeat offense, and the platforms face penalties amounting to $1,500 per illegal transaction. This has had a drastic impact: On Airbnb between August and early September, the number of short-term listings fell from 22,400 to 6,800, a drop of 70%, according to the Inside Airbnb website, which campaigns against the San Francisco-based platform by documenting its activity worldwide.

At the end of August, the city revealed that it had granted 257 registration numbers out of 3,250 applications. Since then, there has been no further communication on the subject. For tourists who have already made a reservation to start before December 1, the booking will be upheld, Airbnb said. After this date, it will be canceled and refunded.

Faced with a housing shortage, the city of New York, which has a majority Democratic government, hopes to bring these apartments back into the traditional rental market. Since the pandemic, prices have skyrocketed, and finding a decent rental is no mean feat. According to real estate firm Douglas Elliman, in August, an apartment in Manhattan – from studios to four bedrooms – was renting for an average monthly price of $5,550 (+5.8% in one year). And in Brooklyn, highly sought after for its brownstone multi-story houses with gardens, the price was $4,400 (+10.6% in one year).

The mayor's office also pointed to the nuisances caused by short stays, which neighbors frequently complain about. For its part, Airbnb has denounced the "punitive" and "restrictive" rules, which amount to "a de facto ban" on short-term rentals in the city. It challenged them in court but lost in August. "I think New York unfortunately is not going to be resolved anytime soon," the platform's co-founder and CEO, Brian Chesky, said on CNBC on September 21.

You have 44.04% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.