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NY official: Airbnb stay illegal; host fined $2,400

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Re: NY official: Airbnb stay illegal; host fined $2,400

#71

Post by aet »

nlh wrote: post #22

Few things that should be pointed out here: 1) First off, most uses in the city have always been against the rules -- it's been a known issue. 2) from TFA: "this law is only actionable as a secondary offense. For example, if the police show up after a noise complaint and then find you renting out your place, only then are you in extra trouble." So it's not going to stop most hosts in their tracks. 3) AFAIK, there is…

Is it secondary if I call and report that you are illegally renting out your dwelling?

Re: NY official: Airbnb stay illegal; host fined $2,400

#72

Post by davidw »

cletus wrote: post #62

I've had this argument with several people. Their position is that "it's my house/apartment, I should be able to do what I want with it" (even when renting they use this argument). My argument is that this is not and has never been true. You can't, for example, run a tannery in your apartment. What's more, as a resident (and especially if I were an owner) I wouldn't want my building being a de facto hotel. An endless…

The term that's involved in this is "externality": costs that are imposed on people not involved in the actual transaction (use of the place for payment).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externality

You rightly point out, that, for instance, in a crowded apartment building, having something like a dynamite storage facility would probably be a bad idea.

However, other things might be annoying too, such as having children or pets or noisy sex, so you have to 1) get an idea of the actual costs involved, and not just "well, this could happen", and 2) see if there's a framework where people could regulate/resolve their differences on a more local level. Perhaps in some buildings, people would be ok with some AirBnB traffic if they get a small cut of it. The idea being that the more global the solution, the more likely it's going to be inefficient.

Re: NY official: Airbnb stay illegal; host fined $2,400

#73

Post by radiusq »

cletus wrote: post #62

I've had this argument with several people. Their position is that "it's my house/apartment, I should be able to do what I want with it" (even when renting they use this argument). My argument is that this is not and has never been true. You can't, for example, run a tannery in your apartment. What's more, as a resident (and especially if I were an owner) I wouldn't want my building being a de facto hotel. An endless…

Your argument is completely shallow and void of reason..

> You can't, for example, run a tannery in your apartment

Why not? Whats your argument?

>What's more, as a resident (and especially if I were an owner) I wouldn't want my building being a de facto hotel.

If I owned a building then I set the rules/laws. This is about property rights, not about what you think is right or wrong. If I want to turn my home into a transient hotel then I should have the right to do so. Existing residents should abide by my rules under the current terms of their lease.

>Imagine the scenario if an AirBnBer does this with say a cigarette?

And what if an existing resident did that? Whats your point?

You completely leave out any actual reasoning to support your statements. A very shallow argument.

Re: NY official: Airbnb stay illegal; host fined $2,400

#74

Post by chiph »

seren wrote: post #65
nawitus wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I'd have to dig up the article but I've read about shady landlords evicting residents and turning entire apartment buildings into Airbnb hotels. Why shouldn't landlords have the right to turn their buildings into Airbnbn hotels? (Assuming that the landlord pays taxes as usual, and the evicted residents were evicted under the rental agreement).

I assume that hotels have to comply to additional regulations (safety, hygiene, etc) and taxes. In this context, an AirBnB hotel would be a de facto hotels, without all the legal constraints. So this is not fair, to your competitors.

Also, zoning laws.

Re: NY official: Airbnb stay illegal; host fined $2,400

#75

Post by brudgers »

Airbnb is no more or less legal than it was before. Some buildings and sites are allowed to provide short term rentals. Most aren't.

What is happening nationally is that people are creating short-term rentals in areas where the use and occupancy are deemed incompatible by land use regulations and building codes. The AirBnB model is no different than renting migrant workers mini-warehouses for dwelling. It's just that the landlord and tenants transfer the burden of commercial uses and transient lodging onto the surrounding neighborhood.

Disclaimer: I am currently involved in removing a short-term rental from my neighborhood. At several hundred bucks a night, transient lodgers often have few social constraints preventing them from treating the dwelling as a hotel, and normal hotel behaviors spill effect the surrounding neighborhood. The difference being that there is no onsite management and no oversight by local and state regulators as is the case with the formal economy.

Re: NY official: Airbnb stay illegal; host fined $2,400

#76

Post by rayiner »

nawitus wrote: post #60
rwhitman wrote: post #39

Illegal hotels are actually a legit problem in NYC. I'd have to dig up the article but I've read about shady landlords evicting residents and turning entire apartment buildings into Airbnb hotels. Its big business, my friend pays his entire rent with Airbnb. Real estate is at an extreme premium and hotel space is scarce. There are a lot of scammers and shady people in this city so its only natural that Airbnb will be…

>I'd have to dig up the article but I've read about shady landlords evicting residents and turning entire apartment buildings into Airbnb hotels. Why shouldn't landlords have the right to turn their buildings into Airbnbn hotels? (Assuming that the landlord pays taxes as usual, and the evicted residents were evicted under the rental agreement).

Have you ever lived near a hotel? My building in Chicago was in the same complex as a hotel. It was a very nice hotel (Doubletree), but there was a steady stream of college students on spring break, prostitutes soliciting business travelers, etc.

Re: NY official: Airbnb stay illegal; host fined $2,400

#77

Post by aet »

cheald wrote: post #40
Diamons wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At the end of the day, it's a hotel. I don't want to live next to someone from somewhere else who isn't here to be my neighbor. What about my rights?

What makes you think you have any kind of right to choose who lives next to you, or to have a say in what they do with their property? If you take Airbnb out of the equation, the assertion is ridiculous.

Homeowners associations should be able to decide whether or not they want short-term rentals.

Re: NY official: Airbnb stay illegal; host fined $2,400

#78

Post by Jun8 »

radiusq wrote: post #73
cletus wrote: post #62

I've had this argument with several people. Their position is that "it's my house/apartment, I should be able to do what I want with it" (even when renting they use this argument). My argument is that this is not and has never been true. You can't, for example, run a tannery in your apartment. What's more, as a resident (and especially if I were an owner) I wouldn't want my building being a de facto hotel. An endless…

Your argument is completely shallow and void of reason.. > You can't, for example, run a tannery in your apartment Why not? Whats your argument? >What's more, as a resident (and especially if I were an owner) I wouldn't want my building being a de facto hotel. If I owned a building then I set the rules/laws. This is about property rights, not about what you think is right or wrong. If I want to turn my home into a tr…

Owning a building and an apartment are different things. If you own an apartment or condo, you are bound by the home owner's association rules, which can be pretty limiting.

Re: NY official: Airbnb stay illegal; host fined $2,400

#79

Post by prawn »

brador wrote: post #58
prawn wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their neighbours are more likely to be people there for the long term and with an interest in the community, rather than just renting out their place to people a night at a time. I can see the negative side of AirBnB, though that said I just booked a place in Paris because every central hotel under $300/night appears to be booked for next week.

Do you not worry that someone will setup cameras in the WC, record you pooping, then sell the videos, together with your personal details, on an underground tor darksite in exchange for Bitcoins? And you'll never know? I used to be very trusting of places until I stayed at a university accom during a conference one time. The janitor was up to no good, but we had to leave and no one wanted the trouble of reporting it…

I've stayed in tiny hotels in 30+ countries and not been worried about that so I'm not sure why it would be much different with AirBnB.

Re: NY official: Airbnb stay illegal; host fined $2,400

#80

Post by dev_jim »

cletus wrote: post #62

I've had this argument with several people. Their position is that "it's my house/apartment, I should be able to do what I want with it" (even when renting they use this argument). My argument is that this is not and has never been true. You can't, for example, run a tannery in your apartment. What's more, as a resident (and especially if I were an owner) I wouldn't want my building being a de facto hotel. An endless…

Agree. AirBnB is the ultimate John Galt system in NYC. Apartment renters get cash for their apartment (that they usually don't even own) and then everyone else in the building gets to deals with the fallout of a revolving set of neighbors who share the lobby, amenities, hallways, and walls. Good riddance.
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