Illegal Short-Term Rentals

Illegal Short-Term

Rentals

November 17, 2021

Who We Are

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD)promotes the

quality and affordability of the city's housing and the strength and diversity of its many

neighborhoods.

The Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement (OSE) is an innovative, solutions-oriented task

force that works to ensure NYC communities are safe from harmful, illegal, and unregulated

industries that one agency and one set of enforcement tools alone can't address.

The Center for NYC Neighborhoods is nonprofit organization that promotes and

protects affordable homeownership in New York so that middle- and working-class families can build

strong, thriving communities.

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Objectives of Webinar

1. Fulfill commitment in the Bedford-Stuyvesant Housing Plan to

enhance education for homeowners on illegal short-term

rentals in Bed-Stuy

2. Notify homeowners of planned enforcement and encourage

compliance without facing penalties

3. Contribute to turning short-term rentals into long-term rentals

4. Share resources that enable homeowners to stabilize their

homes without the income from illegal short-term rentals

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Agenda

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1. Introductions & Objectives

2. Illegal Short-Term Rentals

3. Resources for Homeowners

• Homeowner Help Desk

• HPD Loan Programs

4. Q & A

Illegal Short-Term

Rentals

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Mayor’s Office of Special

Enforcement

What We Do

OSE coordinates joint initiatives among multiple city agencies, including the Department of

Buildings, Fire Department of the City of New York, New York City Law Department, and Office of

the Sheriff of the City of New York. Our multi-agency team devises strategic solutions that span

public outreach, education, investigation, enforcement, and litigation. OSE is currently focused on

addressing the proliferation of illegal short-term home and apartment rentals throughout the City.

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Why the Issue Is Important

• Illegal short-term rentals are impacting the stability, safety, affordability, and availability of housing

for New Yorkers.

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• There are fewer, and often inadequate, protections in short-term rentals. Traditional

and legal transient lodgings are required to meet standards related to building and

fire safety, security, accessibility, sanitary conditions, and non-discrimination policies.

• The negative effects of illegal short-term rentals are felt across every neighborhood. Community

members express concerns about a range of conditions, including rowdy

or noisy guests, parties, overcrowding, trash, and guests inappropriately accessing common or

private areas.

Nearly All Short-Term

Rentals in NYC Are Illegal

• Short-term rental refers to renting out a home or

apartment for any period shorter than 30 days.

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• This applies to all permanent residential buildings.

• If the person renting out the home or

apartment is not present, the short-term rental is

illegal.

• Short-term rentals are only permitted if you are

staying in the same unit or apartment as your

guests, and you have no more than two paying

guests at a time.

• You cannot rent out an entire apartment or home

to visitors for less than 30 days, even if you own

or live in the building.

Illegal Short-Term Rentals in

Bedford-Stuyvesant

• Bed-Stuy has been an epicenter of illegal short-term rental activity for the past several years. In 2018,

it ranked sixth in citywide activity for illegal short-term rentals.

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• On January 3, 2021, New York City’s Booking Service data reporting law took effect. This law applies

to online platforms that provide short-term rental booking services for a fee. It also requires those

Booking Services to provide OSE with information regarding all transactions for listings that have five

or more nights booked per quarter if the listings offer entire home rentals or home rentals to three or

more individuals at the same time.

• Bed-Stuy led the city in illegal short-term rentals in this period for number of locations and nights

booked.

• Since January 2021, over 400 of these qualifying listings for at least 320 locations in Bed-Stuy were

used for short-term rentals based on data produced by Airbnb. These listings were booked for

approximately 27,800 nights through over 6,500 bookings.

OSE’s Enforcement

Priorities

• “Commercial Operators” who use permanent housing as a business:

• Remove one or more entire units of permanent housing, regardless of building type, from the housing market

• “Dangerous Operators” who:

• Significantly exceed the legal occupancy load of a dwelling unit

• Engage in illegal physical alteration to create additional space for illegal rentals

• Rent in a non-residential space, such as commercial or manufacturing space

• “Disruptive Operators” who:

• Generate complaints to 311 or OSE from neighbors who experience the activity as nuisance

• Those who infrequently rent their primary residence are not priorities, barring inclusion in a

category above.

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Violations and Fines for

Illegal Short-Term Rentals

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Building type Occurrence

Violations

Illegal conversion

of permanent

residence to

transient use

Inadequate

sprinklers for

transient use

Inadequate fire

alarm system for

transient use

Inadequate egress

for transient use

Total fines

Single or Two-Family House

First offense $2,500 $1,250 $2,500 $2,500 $8,750

Subsequent offense - min $6,250 $3,125 $6,250 $6,250 $21,875

Subsequent offense - max $12,500 $6,250 $12,500 $12,500 $43,750

Multiple Dwellings

(3 or more)

First offense $2,500 $1,250 $2,500 $2,500 $8,750

Multiple units* $5,000 $1,250 $2,500 $2,500 $11,250

Subsequent offense - min* $5,000 $3,125 $6,250 $6,250 $20,625

Subsequent offense - max* $25,000 $6,250 $12,500 $12,500 $56,250

* indicates additional assessment of daily penalties of $1000/day up to $45,000 until condition corrected

Illegal advertising of short-term rentals in a multiple dwelling

(issued to host)

$1000 first offense; $5000 second offense; $7500 third or more

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CONSULT THE

OSE WEBSITE

Visit nyc.gov/stayintheknow

to access more information

about the issue. Multiple

languages are available.

CALL OR

TEXT 311

If you see illegal activity and wish

to report it, you can call 311

or text 311-692 and mention

the term “short-term rental.”

TALK TO YOUR

LOCAL OFFICIAL

You can also contact your

local representative to share

your concerns or access

more information.

CONNNECT WITH

YOUR COMMUNITY

You can share your concerns with

a block or tenant association,

a local community group,

or a housing advocate.

What

Can You

Do?

Homeowner Help Desk

Resources for

Homeowners

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Objectives & Timeline

• Connect struggling homeowners with free housing

counseling, financial assistance, and legal

services

• Raise awareness about deed theft and scams,

which disproportionately impact homeowners

of color

• Address acute housing and displacement risks

made worse by COVID-19 and natural disasters

• One-year program, April 2021 – March 2022

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Protect Our Homes

Focus on Scams

• Emphasis on increasing awareness of common

housing/ownership scams, such as foreclosure,

refinance, and home improvement scams

• Many scammers are preying on desperate

homeowners who are struggling to make

payments on their mortgages

• The Help Desk seeks to help homeowners

experiencing scams and get homeowners the

services and financial stability they need to

protect against scams

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Geographies & Partners

Selected Geographies

Community Partners

Central Brooklyn:

Bed

-Stuy*, Crown Heights, Bushwick*, Brownsville, East New York*,

Canarsie*, Flatbush*, and East Flatbush*

Brooklyn Neighborhood Services

Brooklyn Legal Services Corp A

Neighborhood Housing Services of Brooklyn

Southeast Queens:

Jamaica*, South Jamaica*, Hollis*, Queens Village*, Springfield

Gardens/Laurelton, Cambria Heights, Rosedale, Rochdale, Far Rockaway,

South Ozone Park*, Richmond Hill*, and South Richmond Hill*

Neighborhood Housing Services of Jamaica

Jewish Association Serving the Aging

Legal Aid Society

Brooklyn Legal Services Corp A

North Bronx:

Wakefield, Baychester*, Eastchester, Woodlawn, Westchester Square,

Parkchester* and Co

-op City

Bronx Legal Services

Legal Aid Society

Neighborhood Housing Services of NYC

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*Priority neighborhoods identified by the Mayor’s Taskforce on Racial Inclusion and Equity, selected based on equity burdens and the impact of COVID-19 in 2020

Expected Outcomes

• Number of homeowners who receive outreach

materials: 16,000

• Number of homeowners engaged: 3,600

• Number of homeowners assisted: 800

• Number of homeowners who improved their

finances: 260

• Number of copies of the Homeowner Manual

distributed to homeowners in the

neighborhood: 3,000

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Expected Outcomes

• By focusing on predominantly Black and

Hispanic homeowners vulnerable to scams

and displacement, the Help Desk's Protect Our

Homes campaign will have a long-term

stabilizing effect on Central Brooklyn,

Southeast Queens, and the North Bronx

• Preventing displacement preserves

affordable housing and creates an

economic multiplier that boosts local

business and benefits NYC as a whole

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Program Activities to Date

Direct Outreach by Network Partners

• Organized and participated in 59 neighborhood outreach events, engaging 8,071 residents

• Distributed 2,265 flyers via targeted events and mass mailings

• Tabled two sessions with the HPD Van at NYC Mobile Vaccine Clinics in June and August

• Engaged and served 671 homeowners, using Homeowner Wellness Check Surveys to identify

hardship and track follow up, which resulted in at least 84 positive outcomes

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How to Get Help

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Contact the Help Desk at

1-855-466-3456 or

visit homeownerhelpny.org to

get help today!

Protect Our Homes

HPD Loan Programs

Resources for

Homeowners

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HomeFix

Administered partnership with the Center for NYC Neighborhoods (CNYCN), HomeFix provides access to affordable low- or

no-interest and potentially forgivable loans for home repairs.

Eligibility

• Own a one- to four-family home in any of the five boroughs in New York City

• Occupy the home as their primary residence (defined as residing in the home 270+ days per year)

• Have a household income that is no more than 165% Area Median Income (~196K for a family of 4)

Terms

• Loan amount will be based on the rehabilitation needs of the home, with a maximum of $60,000 for one-unit

buildings, $90,000 for two-unit buildings, $120,000 for three-unit buildings, and $150,000 for four-unit buildings

• HomeFix loans will be amortizing or deferred and offered at low or no interest rates, ranging from 0% to 5%, based

on the HomeFix Lending Criteria Chart in the Term Sheet

For more information, visit homefixnyc.org or call 646-513-3470.

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Project HELP

Administered partnership with Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) offices throughout NYC, Project HELP provides

forgivable loans for repairs to address hazardous home conditions.

Eligibility

• Homeowners must be primary residents of a one- to four-family home.

• The total household income must be at or below 120% AMI (~$143K for a family of 4)

• Homeowners must have an approved housing deficiency (e.g., electrical repairs, roof and windows, plumbing)

Terms

• The maximum conditional loan amount is $20,000

• No repayment is required unless the property is sold or refinanced during the term of the conditional loan

For more information, call NHS of NYC or the NHS office in your borough: NHS NEW YORK CITY: (212) 519-2500, NHS

BROOKLYN BEDSTUY: 718-919-2100, NHS BROOKLYN CDC (EAST FLATBUSH): (718) 469-4679, NHS QUEENS: (718)

457-1017, & NHS BRONX: (718) 881-1180

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Additional HPD Financing

Lead Hazard Reduction and Healthy Homes Program

If you own a single- or multi-family building built before 1960, you may be eligible for a grant averaging $10,000

per unit, to repair lead paint hazards and address other health and safety issues. For more information, email

hpdlead@hpd.nyc.gov or visit nyc.gov/lead-reduction.

Green Housing Preservation Program for Small Buildings

If you own a building with three to 15 units, you may be eligible for low- or no-interest financing to finance

energy efficiency and water conservation improvements and help manage your utility costs. For more

information, email hpdpres@hpd.nyc.gov.

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Questions?

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