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What Airbnb Did to New York City

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Re: What Airbnb Did to New York City

#211

Post by woolvalley »

gambiting wrote: post #201
brooklyn_ashey wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is much deeper than Airbnb. As a 27 year NYer, I appreciate the shake-up caused by Airbnb. Landlords of market rate apartments can charge whatever they want for a security deposit, so we now get landlords asking 6 months to a year of up-front security on a 2000-plus rental AND then asking for 1st and last months' rent on top of all that. This effectively turns renters into owners without the benefits of b…

Wait, what? How can the landlords in NY be asking for 6 months of security deposit? Who the hell has 10k lying around just to rent a place? I don't even have that much in savings!

It's basically an 'are you wealthy/old enough' filter. The wealthy enough usually do not miss rent payments, are less likely to destroy units, will not make your life hell in eviction court because they have jobs to do, make them into party houses, have a bank account you can take money from in judgements from large damages and so on.

Re: What Airbnb Did to New York City

#212

Post by dragonwriter »

gambiting wrote: post #201
brooklyn_ashey wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is much deeper than Airbnb. As a 27 year NYer, I appreciate the shake-up caused by Airbnb. Landlords of market rate apartments can charge whatever they want for a security deposit, so we now get landlords asking 6 months to a year of up-front security on a 2000-plus rental AND then asking for 1st and last months' rent on top of all that. This effectively turns renters into owners without the benefits of b…

Wait, what? How can the landlords in NY be asking for 6 months of security deposit? Who the hell has 10k lying around just to rent a place? I don't even have that much in savings!

> How can the landlords in NY be asking for 6 months of security deposit?

Landlords can ask for whatever they want within the law, and people can either accept it or go elsewhere. New York, apparently, has no law limiting security deposits. [0]

> Who the hell has 10k lying around just to rent a place?

People (or, perhaps, e.g., their parents) renting in (at least certain parts of) New York City, apparently.

[0] Several other jurisdictions do; California, for instance, limits them two months rent for unfurnished units, three months for furnished units, and increases the limit by half of a months rent for if the tenant brings in a waterbed -- and note that "last months rent" is treated as part of the security deposit limit, so if you break it into "first, last, plus deposit" the deposit part is limited to one months rent for an unfurnished unit, etc.

Re: What Airbnb Did to New York City

#213

Post by astura »

srtjstjsj wrote: post #164
teh_klev wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Is it really so implausible that for a house in a scenic rural area, a succession of people renting it for a week or two each over the summer might end up getting more out of it (between them) than someone wanting to live and work in it for a whole year? Are you really suggesting that just because you live and work in your local (scenic) rural community you couldn't possibly enjoy the surroundings just as much, if…

> s residents, we're quite proud of our village Obviously not, if all your neighbors are renting out their homes

It's entirely possible the units are being bought by absentee investors rather than residents.

Re: What Airbnb Did to New York City

#214

Post by brooklyn_ashey »

astura wrote: post #209
brooklyn_ashey wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is much deeper than Airbnb. As a 27 year NYer, I appreciate the shake-up caused by Airbnb. Landlords of market rate apartments can charge whatever they want for a security deposit, so we now get landlords asking 6 months to a year of up-front security on a 2000-plus rental AND then asking for 1st and last months' rent on top of all that. This effectively turns renters into owners without the benefits of b…

What in the actual fuck? By law, my state strictly limits the amount of security deposit a landlord can charge. And none of this calling it "last month's rent" nonsense - legally any monies collected beyond the first month's rent that the landlord is hanging onto is a security deposit no matter what the landlord wants to call it. I thought this was par for the course. I just checked and NY has no statutory limit on s…

Yeah, they can charge literally whatever they want- and it keeps rising. You are right about first and last month rent. But there is no point in trying to have that law work for you, because the LL will just take you to court and you will have to pay legal fees, especially if you are then working at all especially in another city-- you will absolutely not have time to fight this in court (even though you might win it eventually) unless you are unemployed. If you are unemployed after handing over your savings, you are homeless and have much more desperate concerns.

Re: What Airbnb Did to New York City

#215

Post by brooklyn_ashey »

brooklyn_ashey wrote: post #214
astura wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What in the actual fuck? By law, my state strictly limits the amount of security deposit a landlord can charge. And none of this calling it "last month's rent" nonsense - legally any monies collected beyond the first month's rent that the landlord is hanging onto is a security deposit no matter what the landlord wants to call it. I thought this was par for the course. I just checked and NY has no statutory limit on s…

Yeah, they can charge literally whatever they want- and it keeps rising. You are right about first and last month rent. But there is no point in trying to have that law work for you, because the LL will just take you to court and you will have to pay legal fees, especially if you are then working at all especially in another city-- you will absolutely not have time to fight this in court (even though you might win it…

forgot to mention that whatever you agree to in the lease re:first and last months' rent will bind you. And you have to agree if you want a place to live.

Re: What Airbnb Did to New York City

#216

Post by woolvalley »

teh_klev wrote: post #36
matte_black wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bah, UK is so small it’s easy to see how it can be a problem. America has so much land available out there, some of it is incredibly cheap the farther you are from civilization, even almost free. I think I could buy several rolling acres of land for a couple thousand bucks right now.

I can really only speak with experience with regards to Scotland here. The problem isn't that we don't have enough land to build on. The problem is that there are vast tracts of land owned by a few large estates (many of them owned by off-shored companies in the usual Caribbean tax havens) that will never normally be available for sale. The land is wasted and misused for the benefit of a few very rich folks who want…

Do you guys have value based property tax, or is it a situation like California with prop 13? I've heard in the UK you just have council tax, which is more about the cost of providing services than the value of the piece of land.

Usually you deal with bad 'land hoarding' with a high enough property tax rate. And if you want to avoid effecting the old and the middle class, you add exemptions for primary residences.

Re: What Airbnb Did to New York City

#217

Post by JBlue42 »

lmm wrote: post #197
teh_klev wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Is it really so implausible that for a house in a scenic rural area, a succession of people renting it for a week or two each over the summer might end up getting more out of it (between them) than someone wanting to live and work in it for a whole year? Are you really suggesting that just because you live and work in your local (scenic) rural community you couldn't possibly enjoy the surroundings just as much, if…

> Are you really suggesting that just because you live and work in your local (scenic) rural community you couldn't possibly enjoy the surroundings just as much, if not more, than as a few fleeting transient warm bodies with suitcases could? There's got to be diminishing returns on beautiful surroundings, surely - seeing a mountain for the hundredth or thousandth time can't compete with seeing it for the first time.…

>There's got to be diminishing returns on beautiful surroundings, surely - seeing a mountain for the hundredth or thousandth time can't compete with seeing it for the first time. So better to give dozens of people a chance to see it once than have a few people see it over and over again. (Or if someone really does want to see it over and over again, they can pay what it costs).

lol Who let in the robot?

Re: What Airbnb Did to New York City

#218

Post by jadedhacker »

dang wrote: post #142
jadedhacker wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

NYC is our city. It's for everyone. If the wealth is too concentrated there, split it up. You'd want to turn my hometown into some kind of apartheid disneyland for the rich.

That last sentence breaks the site guidelines by crossing into personal attack. Please don't do that. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Sorry about that. I misspoke. I should have said, "this concept would".

EDIT: I do mean this sincerely, not in a sarcastic asshole way.

Re: What Airbnb Did to New York City

#219

Post by jadedhacker »

lmm wrote: post #111
jadedhacker wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

NYC is our city. It's for everyone. If the wealth is too concentrated there, split it up. You'd want to turn my hometown into some kind of apartheid disneyland for the rich.

So because of the accident of your birth, you have more right to live there than I do? I worked hard (and was fortunate in various ways and was supported by the social system) to earn what I have, but my money isn't good enough?

It's pretty easy to turn that around and say that people with cash can displace and kick around anyone they want. I don't think you have less right to live there, I just think it shouldn't be money that is determinate. For instance, you could apply for placement that is need-blind.

This does preference people that already live there, but that seems elementary that the economic system should not have an inherent tendency to split up communities. People should be able to move when they want to, not when they are forced to. The reason everyone wants to move to NYC is for economic reasons. Maybe if more places weren't destitute, fewer people would need to move around as much.

Re: What Airbnb Did to New York City

#220

Post by jadedhacker »

thriftwy wrote: post #157
jadedhacker wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

NYC is our city. It's for everyone. If the wealth is too concentrated there, split it up. You'd want to turn my hometown into some kind of apartheid disneyland for the rich.

nobody on Earth knows how to "split it up". You can get preferred treatment for preexisting apartments, but how would you manage that for newly built ones? USSR tried to, they failed and made lifes miserable. China tries and it's not helping.

I'm not saying I have the exact solution but it would look something like a democratic process that has representation for both community members and new entrants. People that want to move into the city can participate in decision making. Once your in, your interests change so then you're eligible to be on the community side.
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