21–30 of 85 posts
I wonder what the maximum occupancy laws are like. Could you get around this by simply putting down on paper that you're subletting for a month when they're just staying overnight?
I wonder what the maximum occupancy laws are like. Could you get around this by simply putting down on paper that you're subletting for a month when they're just staying overnight?
Or perhaps by having no "early termination" penalty in the one month "contract".
I guess if you put in the contract how much it costs per night they'd at least legally owe you in full.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
NYC is scam central when it comes to subleasing and renting out rooms. There are tons of people in rent controlled apartments who have no moral qualms about making a buck off of their sublettor or roommate. Another reason AirBNB is interesting because they are making it obvious who these people are and where they live...
Absolutely. The NYC real estate market is an absolute nightmare in so many ways. Right now it seems most akin to the DeBeers control over the diamond market (ie: an industry based on false scarcity).
That said, rent regulation (mostly rent stabilization vs. rent control, these days) does skew the market, creating a small number of lottery winners lucky to have below-market rents and driving up rents for everyone else competing for the unregulated inventory, regardless of their economic status.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
NYC is scam central when it comes to subleasing and renting out rooms. There are tons of people in rent controlled apartments who have no moral qualms about making a buck off of their sublettor or roommate. Another reason AirBNB is interesting because they are making it obvious who these people are and where they live...
Absolutely. The NYC real estate market is an absolute nightmare in so many ways. Right now it seems most akin to the DeBeers control over the diamond market (ie: an industry based on false scarcity).
In 2008, you'd definitely have been right.
Is the rental contract between the customer and the room provider or between the customer and airbnb? One way to approach enforcement would to be to set a threshold on the number of units a room provider can offer without being subject to the hotel regulations. AirBnB can easily enforce such restrictions.
The rise of those kinds of operators has definitely made me warier of using AirBnB now, while I used to be able to assume that most listings on the site were legit individuals renting out rooms/couches in their own homes.
While there, my girlfriend dug up a bunch of stories about the neighbors complaining about condo unit owners leasing out units to this place. I can understand both sides of the argument; if I'd just bought a condo in a building I wouldn't be happy about a large majority of the other units being rented out every night to tourists.
I got the distinct impression that there had been a problem with crime and people being disruptive in the buildings recently, although the whole time we were there it was quiet.
Apparently the owner of this hotel has approached a bunch of building owners with vacant condos and offered to lease them. The building owners are very happy (as apparently they are getting more then they would to rent them as apartments).
I will say that I stayed in a giant two bedroom loft in Williamsburg for about half the cost of a "regular hotel"; so it's definitely appealing.
After checking out, I actually got an email from the hotel with the number for New York Speaker's office asking us to call them about bill Bill A10008.
Short term sublets are already outlawed in some neighborhoods of London (e.g. Belgravia, with a potential fine of ~20k pounds). There is also a similar law in Paris since last December, although as a matter of practice it is only enforced after complaints from co-op boards and neighbors who get annoyed at the constant stream of vacation renters. The hotel lobby was behind the law in Paris. Part of the justification was also that owners of short-term rentals, often foreigners themselves, do not declare the rental income on the properties.
Someone threatening your business model? They're not innovators, they're criminals!