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Airbnb suffers another setback in New York


Relentlessly, the noose is tightening on Airbnb and short-term rental platforms. The mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, signed a municipal by-law on August 6 which obliges the San Francisco company to communicate to him the list of its hosts. The order – which applies to all short-stay accommodation sites – requires operators to provide a list of all transactions made for housing in New York.

Any breach of this obligation or incorrect information will be punishable by a fine of at least $ 1,500 per month and per accommodation. This information will allow the municipality to more effectively enforce New York State laws, which prohibit renting accommodation for less than thirty days, unless the host is present.

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The decree will take effect in one hundred and eighty days. “We are disappointed that Mayor De Blasio chose to sign this decree supported by the hotel industry rather than defending the New York middle class who relies on housing sharing to get by”, reacted the head of the regulation of Airbnb for the Northeast of the United States, Josh Meltzer, quoted by AFP. “We hope to collaborate with the mayor to create a common sense regulation that finally distinguishes these families from a few evil actors”, he added on Twitter.

Read also Paris summons Airbnb, “which does not respect the law”

New York is not the first city to take such an initiative. San Francisco, home of Airbnb, struck a deal with the platform in May 2017, after the company sued the California city. This agreement provides for a transfer of data similar to that provided for in the decree signed by the mayor of New York.

Fighting real estate speculation

Several elected officials of the city have been demanding this decree for many months, claiming that the emergence of Airbnb had significantly worsened the housing crisis in New York. It thus had the effect of moving apartments out of the ordinary rental stock, which were no longer rented to passing visitors, most often tourists.

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In France, the “ELAN” bill (housing development and digital development), which was adopted at first reading by the National Assembly in June, provides for increased sanctions against owners who do not respect their obligations, and new fines for platforms. The lessor must send the municipality the count of the number of nights rented during the year. The fines (from 5,000 to 10,000 euros) will be increased for rental companies who do not respect their obligations.

With around sixty thousand rental properties, Paris is Airbnb’s number one market in the world

For the first time, the law also provides for fines, ranging from 10,000 to 50,000 euros, targeting platforms, while a legal ceiling of 120 days for the rental of the main residence for tourist purposes will be introduced. Airbnb and other platforms have pledged to block ads from rental companies that exceed this threshold from December 2018.

With around sixty thousand rental properties, Paris is Airbnb’s number one market in the world. The mayor of Paris organized a meeting on June 15 with its counterparts from Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Lisbon and Amsterdam, in order to explore avenues to fight against real estate speculation, the rise in prices and the worsening of the housing shortage in city ​​centers.

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“Our objective is not to fight against those who rent their accommodation occasionally while respecting the law, but against those who make an industry of it and dry up the rental market”, declares Ian Brossat, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of housing, who will publish, on September 6, a book entitled Airbnb, the uberized city (Ed. The city is burning, 14 euros).

In Spain, Palma de Mallorca banned for 1is July the rental of private apartments to tourists. Similar measures have been taken before in other European cities, such as Berlin or Barcelona.

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