Airbnb and three hosts are suing the city over short-term regulations.

“We were in support of regulations but that they be fair,” said Gia Briscoe, who is one of three hosts.

Briscoe has been renting a floor in the brownstone she owns with her husband, Paul, for years to make ends meet.

What You Need To Know

  • Airbnb and three hosts are suing the city over their regulation of the short-term rental market

  • The two separate lawsuits allege the process for registering and being approved to operate a short-term rental in the city is cumbersome and nearly impossible to pass

  • Local Law 18 was passed by the City Council last year but tasked the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement with implementing the law

  • Some of the rules under the law include providing personal information on every person living at the rental and their relationship to the host

But that income was threatened when Local Law 18 took effect earlier this year.

The law established new rules for short-term rentals, including the requirement of hosts to navigate a complicated registration process.

It also requires hosts to understand and comply with a litany of local zoning and building codes.

Now, Briscoe and Airbnb, in two separate lawsuits, are challenging the law, arguing it effectively bans short-term rentals in the city.

“We had to use the income from Airbnb to survive and now the city is trying to rip this away from us,” added Briscoe.

Airbnb criticizes the city’s standards of getting a rental approved.

In their lawsuit, they state: “If OSE approves an application, then booking services like Airbnb must go through a verification process and ensure an exact match across four points of data, including name, address, URL of the listing, and registration number. If there is any discrepancy between the four points of data given to Airbnb by the host and the same information given to the City by the host — e.g., an extra space or the inconsistent abbreviation of “Avenue” to “Ave.”—the listing will not be verified.”

Hosts argue the rules, which are set to be enforced next month, will cost them their livelihood.

“We need the supplemental income to cover the expenses of owning this house, including mortgage, fuel oil, utilities, insurance and taxes. Having the income from hosting is what will allow us to keep our home,” said Sarah Brezavar, one of the hosts suing the city.

Hosts also say they provide a vital service in neighborhoods that lack hotels.

“So I often host people coming to visit their families, grandparents, coming to meet their newborn grandchildren. The family who recently visited came to show their children the neighborhood they grew up in,” said Rupi Arora, a host and plaintiff in the case.

Airbnb in their lawsuit claims that as of early May, less than 10 short-term rentals had been approved under the new rules.

NY1 reached out to the city for comment on the lawsuit.

The city official who oversees the implementation of the law, Christian Klossner, said the rules are meant to free up valuable housing and close down illegal operators.

Earlier this year, he said that there were over 10,000 illegal short-term rentals across the city.