13-15 Christopher Street. Image Credit: Google Maps

Tenant used property as an illegal short-term rental. On April 12, 2019, the owner purchased a single-family dwelling with a rear building at 13-15 Christopher Street in the West Village in Manhattan.  The tenant had been advertising the property on Homeaway.com, a vacation rental website owned by the Expedia Group. At the time of the purchase, the owner claimed not to have knowledge of the illegal transient use. On May 10, 2019, Buildings issued a transient use summons against the owner for the front building—a different building at the same address. Subsequently on July 3, 2019, a Department of Buildings officer observed that the owner’s rear building was occupied by six short-term guests. The officer issued four summonses to the owner charging an Aggravated I penalty for a recurring condition. (read more…)

Broadway Hotel and Hostel in Manhattan. Image Credit: CityLand

Broadway Hotel sued New York City claiming the Airbnb law was unconstitutional. The City served a summons on the Broadway Hotel on the Upper West Side of Manhattan for illegal transient occupancy. The New York City Airbnb law prohibited a class A dwelling from renting out rooms on a temporary basis. The City alleged that the Hotel was a Class A dwelling and was therefore prohibited from renting out rooms on a temporary basis for any period less than 30 days. (read more…)

According to the Office of Special Enforcement, all of the units at 200 East 116th Street were converted into illegal short term rentals. Image Credit: Google Maps

The lawsuit claims that at least 130 apartments were converted into illegal short-term rentals. On January 14, 2019, the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement announced that it filed a lawsuit against several defendants for converting apartments in 35 residential buildings into illegal short-term rentals through websites like Airbnb. The defendants include Metropolitan Property Group (MPG), five current or former MPG employees and 18 associated corporate entities. The lawsuit was filed on January 14, 2019, in New York State Supreme Court. (read more…)