Quick Question Regarding Short-Term Rentals in One or Two Family NYC Homes

[Aron1902]

I am a homeowner here in Brooklyn of a legal two-family townhouse. My understanding is that the laws in NYC make it illegal for Air B&B hosts who reside in Class A multiple dwellings -- buildings designed for three or more families -- to list their apartment for rentals of less than 30 days. Does anyone know if this also pertains to owners like myself, who have stand-alone single or two-family residences? Thanks in advance for any insight here. 

[Mark116]

Yikes.  NYC really hates short term rentals.  I'm not stupid and I can't really understand what is allowed either, it seems like you can only do short term rental in a 2 or 1 family if you are on site in the same unit but you're not allowed to even lock your own bedroom.  How awful.

[Seth184]

Do you have any clarification on this since you made this post? I’m also curious as to the official legality of hosting a unit in a two-family owner-occupied building. 
thanks. 

[Ana24809]

@Aron1902 and @Seth184, I'm in the same boat and have done a bit of research on this topic. I am not a lawyer but from what I've read, to be exempt from the law, your property must be a legal 1-2 family AND owner occupied. Here are a few articles from Brick Underground with some real estate lawyers chiming in:

**[Link removed due to safety reasons - Community Center Guidelines

From Steven Kirkpatrick, a real estate attorney with Romer Debbas law firm:

"So if you're renting for 30 days or more, then you are within the law and would be able to rent out the place while not being present. “If you're renting for 29 days or less, and the owner is not present, then it's against the law,” Kirkpatrick says.

[Scott213]

What does "present" mean?

I live in a two-family home in Brooklyn where we live in one unit and rent the other unit to Airbnb. All are under 30 days.

Does living in the building mean that I'm "present"?

[Elizabeth1093]

What does being present mean? My listing is as a private home so now I need to change it to a shared home in order to rent 29 days or less yet present means a lot of things? Me being present for five minutes or working remotely or just stopping by is considered being present there are no specifications as to what present means.

[Aron1902]

I don't know. The only things I have heard is that you can only for less than 30 days if you are present in the home (whatever that means), that there are no locked passages between rooms (does a bathroom lock count? who knows?) and it can be only two people or less. So it's obviously confusing and less than ideal. Airbnb just filed a lawsuit yesterday to combat all this stuff so we'll have to wait and see how that shakes out. 

[Kate2209]

Same question. We have a legal two unit townhome and live full time in upstairs unit. Any clarification on what “present” means?

[Helen3]

Why don't you ask your city government directly about this if you feel their guidance is unclear @Kate2209 

[Aron1902]

This also is not easy. No one seems to know anything. 🙂 

[Baptiste230]

Hello, have you found any answers since then? I am in the same situation and I have been doing some research but I am still confused about the rules for 2-family houses. @Kate2209 @Ana24809 @Aron1902 

[Aron1902]

Nope. Still no guidance on anything from anyone at Air B&B or the city.

[Frank1626]

Hi, I am also trying to ascertain the legality of renting an apartment in my two family  

home through Airbnb. There dozens of homes in my neighborhood and hundreds (perhaps thousands) from what I can see throughout the city listed on Airbnb. Does this mean they are all doing so illegally? And if so, can it just be that the city is just ignoring them and refraining from summonsing them? Surely someone who is presently renting on the platform could shed some light on the subject.

[Ana24809]

Nope, no one seems to be able to give a definitive answer. I've contacted lawyers and my local government representatives but either no answer or at best acknowledge how vague the law is written. I recently found this article written by a NYC lawyer which offers the clearest explanation thus far: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/overview-airbnb-law-new-york-city.html

I've copy and pasted the highlights below:

"..the New York State Multiple Dwelling Law (MDL) does not prohibit short-term rentals, whether hosted or not, in "private dwellings"— one-and two-family homes... However, all such rentals could violate various other laws. 

Hosts who engage in legal rentals in New York City may be required to obtain a special license or permit to operate a business in the City. 

In addition, New York State and New York City each impose various taxes on hotels. These include a New York City hotel room occupancy tax, New York State sales tax, New York City sales tax, and the New York State hotel unit fee daily tax. Short-term rentals through Airbnb or other rental platforms may be subject to some or all of these taxes. Airbnb and other rental platforms do not collect or remit such taxes for hosts in New York City, thus they must do so themselves."

If anyone is able to speak directly to a lawyer and get clear answers for 2-family owner occupied homes in NYC, please do share!!!

[Aron1902]

Hey, I wanted to let everyone on this post know that we recently received a visit from the DOB inspectors with badges, who hit us with 6 violations, ranging from insufficient egress to not having sprinklers, etc — things that are required for hotels. We hired an attorney and learned the facts about what is legal and not legal in the city regarding short term rentals. It’s definitive: renting your house or part of your house for anything less than 30 days, whether it’s single family, two family, or three family or more is all illegal. The only thing that is allowed less than 30 days is renting to 2 or fewer people in your own unit when the owner is present. That’s it. Everything else is a violation. And the fines are no joke— the can range anywhere from $10k - $30k on average, but our attorney has seen them go as high as $250k. We moved our listing to 30 days or more, but we aren’t seeing much action. Will likely rent it long term. I’ve heard from other hosts who have also been visited by the DOB recently. It’s no joke. Just wanted to warn all of you. 

[Rachel1037]

Yikes. Thanks for the update. Are you willing to share how much you were fined? I also have a 2 family, and I do have a permanent tenant, so we do have 2 families living here. The space I rent out on AirBNB is a basement, that is technically considered part of the owner unit, but it is also separate, with its own entrance (they certainly don't have access to my bedroom!! very weird rule!!). It doesn't have  a full kitchen, and is not suitable for long term rentals. I am flummoxed as to why the city would want to make such a scenario a violation. I guess I am going to have to close down, as I can't risk those types of fines you mentioned.  I have paused my listing, pending more info (hoping to reopen if things change). Is that enough, or I wonder if it's necessary to delete listing altogether to avoid the data sharing. It would be a shame to lose all those 5 star reviews, if my understanding of the new law changes, or the laws themselves change or don't take effect. Also I am shocked the city has the personnel to conduct these surprise visits, when so many departments are suffering from personnel shortages and not able to meet demand.