New York bill may see heavy fines for local Airbnb hosts
The New York State Senate passed a bill on 17 June that could make it illegal to advertise short-term rentals of less than 30 days on home-sharing platforms such as Airbnb. Since 2010, it has been illegal to rent apartments for less than 30 days in multi-unit buildings if the owner is not present, however, if the new bill becomes law, hosts will face a $1k fine for the first offence, followed by $5k and $7.5k for the second and third offence respectively. The bill now awaits the signature of Governor Andrew Cuomo either to sign or veto.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo will soon either veto or sign into law a bill that makes it illegal to advertise entire unoccupied apartments for short-term rentals on Airbnb. Despite loud objections from Airbnb and Silicon Valley investors like Ashton Kutcher and Paul Graham, the New York State Senate passed the bill on Friday, the latest development in a complicated relationship between Airbnb and its biggest market. Now the measure is headed to Cuomo's desk. The bill prohibits online apartment listings that last under 30 days and run up against the city's multiple dwelling law, which is designed to stop apartment buyers from renting out the entire space and basically turning their units into Airbnb hotels.

First-time offenders would be fined $1,000, but a third infraction would be much costlier at $7,500. "Let’s be clear: this is a bad proposal that will make it harder for thousands of New Yorkers to pay the bills," an Airbnb spokesperson told TechCrunch. "Dozens of governments around the world have demonstrated that there is a sensible way to regulate home sharing and we hope New York will follow their lead and protect the middle class."

The @NYSenate is trying to quietly rush through a bill banning Airbnb. If you'd like the decision to be more democratic, tell them. — Paul Graham (@paulg) June 17, 2016

State Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, one of the bill's sponsors, disagrees, claiming that it targets "people or companies with multiple listings. There are so many units held by commercial operators, not individual tenants. They are bad actors who horde multiple units, driving up the cost of housing around them and across the city." There's also a level of fear mongering in Rosenthal's stance. “You should know who your neighbor is and what happens when people rent out their apartments on Airbnb is you get strangers," she told the New York Post. "Every night there could be different person sleeping in the next apartment and it shatters that sense of community in the building. It also can be dangerous.”

Airbnb insists the bills supporters are exaggerating facts and are instead backing the interests of the hotel industry. The Internet Association has placed radio ads in Albany that support Airbnb's side, and numerous venture capitalists have also slammed the New York bill as harmful to innovation.