Crackdown on apartment Airbnb increasing

Airbnb hosting services in apartment buildings have been banned in NY, CA and many other states. Now NY is not only slapping fines on hosting providers but also additional civil court penalties which attach to the property title if a landlord is caught engaging in Airbnb hosting. Attaching to the title means the marketability of the property is adversely affect during a sales transaction. As for tenants who engage in Airbnb hosting services, they face automatic eviction and stiff penalties.

New York City hit the three buildings with more than $46,000 in civil penalties prior to filing the lawsuit, according to court documents. The suit asks the court to ban space in the buildings from being used as short-term rentals going forward and have the defendants pay the city a fine of $1,000 per day for each day they violated its rules on short-term rentals. It seeks $500,000 in punitive damages for the city as well. The city has sued multiple landlords over alleged illegal Airbnb violations in recent years, including Metropolitan Property Group, the Torkian Group and Philip Baldeo.

“The message is clear: illegal hotel operators who flout the law will see consequences–and their day in court,” City Hall spokeswoman Avery Cohen said in a statement.

SOURCE: TheRealDeal