Skip to main content

Airbnb drops NYC lawsuit after agreement on short-term rental law enforcement

It’s official: New York City and Airbnb will work together. The hosting company agreed to terms of enforcement of a short-term apartment rental law by New York City and dropped a lawsuit against the city that was filed in October, according to Reuters.

The law, passed by the New York state legislature in June but remaining unsigned by Governor Andrew Cuomo until October, called for fines up to $7,500 for property owners who advertised short-term apartment rentals in buildings of “three or more units.” So it doesn’t apply to someone renting a single room in their home, a basement apartment in a single family home, or even to half of a two-family home. The law was meant for listings on Airbnb and other peer-to-peer sites that had multiple units for rent in what were clearly commercial arrangements and considered “illegal hotels.”

Recommended Videos

More: Airbnb files federal lawsuit after passage of prohibitive New York bill

Airbnb filed suit because it believed the law’s wording was not clear enough to protect online platforms such as itself, which could not be held responsible for landlords who broke the law. If the listing services were charged, the risks of fines and liability would be more than the companies could bear.

In settling the suit, the city agreed it would focus on individual property owners who violated the law, not the listing companies. New York state attorney general Eric Schneiderman had said the state would not enforce the law, leaving enforcement to the city.

New York City mayor’s office spokesperson Melissa Grace said, “The city will enforce this and other existing laws against bad actors, and appreciates the additional enforcement powers this new tool provides to protect New Yorkers and visitors from unsafe conditions.”

Airbnb agreed, citing the agreement as a way to reassure listing hosts while complying with the law. “We look forward to using this as a basis to finding an approach that protects responsible New Yorkers while cracking down on illegal hotels that remove permanent housing off the market or create unsafe spaces,” Airbnb said.

Bruce Brown
Bruce Brown Contributing Editor   As a Contributing Editor to the Auto teams at Digital Trends and TheManual.com, Bruce…
Intuit QuickBooks summer savings have us excited for bookkeeping and more
Intuit QuickBooks Online and Payroll Indepence Day deals used by business owner

Being honest, accounting, bookkeeping, and various administrative tasks aren't exactly what most people would call exciting, even if they own a business. It's something you have to do, but not that you necessarily want to do. But you absolutely have to stay on top of it; otherwise, things could get out of hand later, like when you're filing taxes or trying to calculate expenses. As a leader in small business fintech, Intuit QuickBooks is helping over 7 million customers worldwide do precisely that. From a startup to scaling up, the Intuit QuickBooks ecosystem delivers products and services that are a core component of small business growth. Accounting, payroll, payments, capital, and even marketing assistance via Mailchimp are just a few examples of what you can expect from a QuickBooks subscription. Thanks to its current Summer Sale, you can save a never-before-seen 70% off Intuit QuickBooks plans. That offer and these prices excite us for something that, typically, wouldn't be considered exciting.

 
These Intuit QuickBooks Summer Savings are unprecedented
This is the first time we've ever seen prices this low, and it may actually be the only time it happens. Time will tell, but the point is that you can save big on QuickBooks plans that you need for your business. The deal offers 70% off QuickBooks Online for your first three months. With Simple Start -- the base plan -- you get your first three months for just $9 per month instead of $30. That saves you $21 monthly for $63 across your initial three months of service. By comparison, the Essentials tier is only $18 per month instead of $60, and the Plus tier is only $27 per month instead of $90. If you want to splurge and go with Advanced, it's only $60 monthly for your first three months instead of $20h. Those are some incredible savings.

Read more
What is Microsoft Teams? How to use the collaboration app
A close-up of someone using Microsoft Teams on a laptop for a videoconference.

Online team collaboration is the new norm as companies spread their workforce across the globe. Gone are the days of primarily relying on group emails, as teams can now work together in real time using an instant chat-style interface, no matter where they are.

Using Microsoft Teams affords video conferencing, real-time discussions, document sharing and editing, and more for companies and corporations. It's one of many collaboration tools designed to bring company workers together in an online space. It’s not designed for communicating with family and friends, but for colleagues and clients.

Read more
How to create a new team in Microsoft Teams
Example of Teams chat.

Few communication applications are as versatile as Microsoft Teams. Along with allowing you to send quick messages to teammates or launch a video chat, the software is fully integrated with Office 365 so you can optimize its performance. If you know how to use Microsoft Teams, you'll know that one of its most useful features is the ability to create a new team.

Knowing how to make a new team and how to properly organize teams makes it easy for a company to enhance productivity and streamline communication. When used effectively, Microsoft Teams is useful for both in-office and remote workers, ensuring everyone stays on the same page regardless of location.

Read more