
From Left to Right: Council member Ydanis Rodriguez, Council member Helen Rosenthal, State Assembly member Deborah Glick, and Council member Mark Levine speak at the rally against illegal hotels. Image credit: CityLand
The proposed laws seek to enforce existing State regulations by increasing illegal hotel fines and reporting requirements. On October 30, 2015, the City Council Committee on Housing and Buildings heard testimony on three proposed laws that seek to ramp up enforcement of state laws that prohibit the operation of illegal hotels. The proposed legislation would regulate only those residential units located in multiple-dwelling buildings—not one- to four-family homes. The proposed legislation is intended to address property owners who repeatedly and illegally rent out entire apartments, particularly rent-regulated apartments, for less than thirty days.