New York, NY

When deciding whether to become an Airbnb host, it's important for you to understand the laws and Airbnb policies in place in your city. As a platform, we do not provide legal advice, but we want to provide some useful links that may help you better understand laws and regulations in New York. This list is not exhaustive, but it should give you a good start in understanding your local laws and policies. If you have questions, contact the Department of Buildings, Department of Finance or other city agencies directly, or consult a local lawyer or tax professional.

Navigating hosting requirements in NYC

Over the course of the last 5 years, we’ve been committed to finding a way forward for responsible home sharing with the City of New York. As a host in New York City, you may have heard that the City recently amended a law that could affect how you host. This amendment requires that Airbnb and all other short-term rental platforms obtain your consent to share your hosting and listing data with the City. If you don’t want to share your hosting and listing data with the City, you can always switch to hosting 30 nights or longer which are exempt from data-sharing.

To help you navigate these changes and requirements, we’ve put together a guide that breaks them down and explains what they mean for you.

New York data-sharing requirements
The City of New York requires that home-sharing platforms like Airbnb share data about listings and you as a host. Before we do so, we’ll ask for your consent to share this information with the City. If you consent, we’ll provide information about your hosting and listing activity to the City. The amended law requires platforms to share data as of January 3, 2021 onwards.

Here is a list of the information we’ll disclose to the City of New York:

1. Host & Co-Host(s) information:
   1. Name
   2. Physical address (street name, street number, apartment or unit number, borough or county, and zip code)
   3. Phone number
   4. Email
   5. Profile ID number
   6. Profile URL
   7. Total amount the platform transmitted to the host
   8. the account name and consistently anonymized identifier for the account number for the account used by host to receive payments
      
      
2. Listing(s) information:
   1. Physical address (street name, street number, apartment or unit number, borough or county, and zip code)
   2. Listing's name
   3. Listing's ID number
   4. URL of listing
   5. Type (ex: entire place, private room etc.)
   6. Total number of nights booked per listing

Hosting 30 nights or longer
If you don’t consent to sharing your data with the City, you won’t be allowed to host short-term stays on Airbnb. That means you’ll only be able to host guests for stays that are 30 nights or longer.

There are a number of benefits to hosting 30 nights or longer. In addition to being exempt from data-sharing requirements, it can help you boost your earning potential and reduce guest turnover. Hosting 30 nights or more can also help you to reach new types of guests, like professionals working remotely.

Details about exemptions
Some listing types are exempt and won’t have their listing data shared with the City. Exempt listing types may include:

• Class B listings, like licensed hotels, published on an exemption list managed by the City
• Hosts who rent for 4 or less nights per quarter
• Private rooms that have capacity for 2 or fewer guests
• Shared rooms that have capacity for 2 or fewer guests

Even though their data won’t be shared, hosts of exempt listings are still required to consent to data-sharing in the event that their listing status or type changes.

We know that navigating these regulations can be challenging. As always, we’ll continue to advocate for our host community and responsible home sharing in New York City. If you have more questions on hosting requirements in New York, be sure to check out our Help Center too.

Business licensing

You may be required to obtain a special license or permit in New York. For more information, please consult the City’s new business portal, the City's business regulation finder, and the New York Administrative Code.

Multiple Dwelling Law

The New York State Multiple Dwelling Law restricts renting out a Class A multiple dwelling for periods of fewer than 30 days when the host is not present. The definitions of "Class A" and "multiple dwelling" can be found in Sections 4-7 and 4-8 of Article 1 of the Multiple Dwelling Law. The law contains certain exemptions for rentals to a “boarder, roomer or lodger.” 

Advertising 

New York State has also banned advertisement for rentals in “Class A” dwellings that are in violation of the Multiple Dwellings Law’s restriction on short-term rentals. Penalties on those who are found by the New York City Office of Special Enforcement to be violating this law begin at $1,000 for the first violation.

Rent control

The New York Administrative Code sets out rules for rent stabilized (Section 26-501-26-520) and rent control (Section 26-401-26-415) properties. If you live in a property subject to rent stabilization or rent control, you should review these rules carefully. The New York City Rent Guidelines Board’s website provides helpful resources regarding rent control and rent stabilization issues.

Taxes 

New York City and New York State impose multiple taxes that may apply to transient occupancy or tourist use, subject to certain exemptions. Examples of taxes that could apply to your listing are State sales and use tax, City hotel room occupancy tax, and State and City nightly room fees. Additional information about hotel sales taxes is available on the New York State Department of Taxation’s website. Additional information about NYC hotel occupancy taxes is available on the City’s website. (The word "hotel" has a broad definition that could apply to you.) Airbnb already collects and remits county bed taxes on behalf of hosts in least 30 counties across New York State. You can view the full list of counties here.

Other rules

It's also important to understand and abide by other contracts or rules that bind you, such as leases, condo board or co-op rules, HOA rules, or rules established by tenant organizations. Please read your lease agreement and check with your landlord if applicable.