New York City approved just over 400 short-term rentals amid a crackdown on unauthorized listings across Airbnb and other booking platforms, according to new data released on Wednesday.
The city’s Office of Special Enforcement said it OK’d just 405 of the 4,624 applications it received from landlords and tenants, who attempted to legally register their units on Airbnb, Vrbo and other sites in the months since the city launched a registration portal in March. The agency rejected 214 submissions and sent another 758 back to applicants to make corrections or add information, agency officials told Gothamist. The vast majority of applications are still awaiting review, according to the agency.
More than 10,000 short-term rentals existed in New York City as recently as last month, despite state and city laws prohibiting listings for stays under 30 days, unless the “host” is present in the unit.
OSE shared the up-to-date information along with a more detailed report on applications received through the end of the most recent fiscal year on June 30. That report offers a window into the approval and application process in the months immediately after the registration portal opened, but before a state judge dismissed the lawsuits challenging the legality of the new rules in August. OSE received 71% of its applications since the end of June.
New laws that took effect earlier this month prohibit companies like Airbnb from processing payments for those short-term listings, unless the host received authorization from the city through the registration portal.
With the new laws looming, New Yorkers with short-term rental listings have complained about long wait times for a decision on their applications — a problem potentially worsened by sizable staff shortages at OSE, as Gothamist has reported.
The fiscal year report issued on Wednesday shows that the agency took an average of 50 days to make its decisions, though the wait period rose to 87 days when the agency asked…
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