NEW YORK — A US judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit by the Airbnb tourist accommodation platform against the City of New York for the restrictions that the big city wants to impose on short-term rentals, which represents a setback for the company in one of its main markets.
Airbnb sued New York in June and managed to postpone until September 5 the entry into force of legislation that seeks to regulate the short-term rental business and stop illegal activities in the midst of the housing crisis, and that also forced hosts to to register with the authorities.
However, Judge Arlene Bluth, in a Manhattan state court, dismissed the company’s claim, considering it “rational” for the city to require hosts to register and control the legality of the accommodations it offers, something that the company came to qualify as a “de facto veto” to their activity, according to local media.
Airbnb’s director of global policy, Theo Yedinsky, criticized the decision in a statement to the media, saying the impending restrictions will hurt tourism and thus residents of “off-centre neighborhoods who rely on home sharing.” to make ends meet, and nearby companies.
New York was going to impose the short-term rental restrictions on Airbnb in May, but pushed them back to July due to staffing issues, and then to September due to lawsuit, the Daily News reports.
The city prevents entire apartments from being rented for less than 30 days, but it does allow rentals for less than that period if the host is present at the accommodation and has no more than two visitors, a rule that applies not only to Airbnb, but also to other platforms.
With the new measures, the city requires that hosts register with a special office of the Mayor (OSE), something that both the company and its clients have indicated is a slow and privacy-invasive process, and with very little probability of approval.
According to Airbnb’s lawsuit, short-term rentals in New York City alone netted $85 million in 2022. The company had revenue of $8.4 billion for the year.
According to Airbnb’s latest financial results, published a week ago, in the second quarter of 2023 the company had a record number of active accommodations, 7 million worldwide, and achieved a profit of 650 million dollars, 72% more year-on-year. .
