Airbnb and New York City settle short-term rental lawsuit filed by company

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Airbnb and New York City settle short-term rental lawsuit filed by company

It’s official: New York City and Airbnb will work together. The hosting company agreed to terms of enforcement of a short-term apartment rental law by New York City and dropped a lawsuit against the city that was filed in October. The law, passed by the New York state legislature in June but remaining unsigned by Governor Andrew Cuomo until October, called for fines up to $7,500 for property owners who advertised short-term apartment rentals in buildings of “three or more units.” In settling the suit, the city agreed it would focus on individual property owners who violated the law, not the listing companies. The law was meant for listings on Airbnb and other peer-to-peer sites that had multiple units for rent in what were clearly commercial arrangements and considered “illegal hotels.” Airbnb filed suit because it believed the law’s wording was not clear enough to protect online platforms such as itself, which could not be held responsible for landlords who broke the law. If the listing services were charged, the risks of fines and liability would be more than the companies could bear.