Airbnb rules on a 3 family

Hello Brownstoner,
We have a 3 family home with one vacant apartment and were kicking around the idea of renting one of the units as a short term rental. We occupy the parlor ground and finished cellar and have a tenant on the top floor. The middle floor is currently empty. I came across this article

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/overview-airbnb-law-new-york-city.html

and wanted to know the forums opinion. The way I read this law, it states that if 3 or more families reside in the residence. The house is a legal 3 but only 2 of the units are occupied. My questions are as follows :

1. Can I rent out both apartments Airbnb for short term rental if the top floor tenants ended up leaving eventually?

2. What if we kept the top floor permanent tenants and rented our middle floor as a short term rental and we occupied our 3 lower floors permanently? Is this allowed?

3. If anyone has rented Airbnb, how do you like it and what would you say the average occupancy rate is throughout the year in Bed Stuy?

Thanks for your input!

stuyheights

in General Discussion 9 years and 1 month ago

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agdipierro

in General Discussion 9 years and 1 month ago

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No transient occupancy unless it stated on the Certificate of Occupancy. No Air bnb

Augustiner | 9 years and 1 month ago

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2 family c of O is definitely fine.
It is not legal to rent out short term in a 3 family.

I wouldn’t list 2 apts in the same building under one account because that is kind of a hotel and that can get you in trouble.

If it’s a 3 family with you living in one of the apts and one of them is rented short term and one of them regular then you are in a gray zone

stuyheights | 9 years and 1 month ago

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Slopefarm, thanks a lot for taking the time out to provide this information. Certainly appreciated! I must admit, I still don’t know how I view this law. It’s still unclear to me.

slopefarm | 9 years and 1 month ago

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See pp 18-19 of the NYS AG’s report for the AG’s summary of the applicable law.

http://www.ag.ny.gov/pdfs/Airbnb%20report.pdf

slopefarm | 9 years and 1 month ago

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It’s not my interpretation. It is my understanding based on what others have written, and my gut sense of how the supposed ambiguity is likely to be interpreted, if it is indeed ambiguous. I have not taken a close look at the statute’s text or any relevant caselaw, so I would not say my comment is an interpretation. It just seems strange, the idea that a law would prohibit short term rentals in buildings of 3 or more, but you can take your 3 unit building and make it a 2 unit building for purposes of that very same law by renting one of the units out as a short term rental, conduct that law prohibits.

cmu | 9 years and 1 month ago

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I know of at least two houses whose apts are rented out via something like vrbo etc, one’s a 3-unit with one long-term tenant. Over 14 years. I don’t see the owners being worried, but maybe their risk-acceptance is high?

stuyheights | 9 years and 1 month ago

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So Slopefarm, your interpretation is if you have a 3 family house you cannot rent short term correct?

slopefarm | 9 years and 1 month ago

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“Now where it sounds gray is if you considered yourself as the permanent owner/occupant of both your unit and the unit you want to rent out on AirBnB and then you would be renting a hosted unit.”

I can’t imagine you could get around the MDL by engaging in the exact conduct that it is trying to prevent. Can’t see a judge going for that interpretation.

eileengray | 9 years and 1 month ago

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There is a difference between dwelling units rented for long term (not sure how long but at least a month) and short term. It sounds like your building is legal for long term rentals not transients. Homeowners insurance might different for short term as well.

stuyheights | 9 years and 1 month ago

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Thanks for your reply Dave. I agree the way the law reads is quite gray. To keep it interesting, I do not have a CO on the building but I’m paying taxes as a 3 family and it’s registered with DOB as such but no CO. The fines for this if you get snagged are heavy. I’ve searched in other places online without any greater clarity.

daveinbedstuy | 9 years and 1 month ago

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It’s unclear because it says 3 or more families living independently and doesn’t state the number of units in the Class A dwelling but I think they mean any 3 family as specified by a C of O. Now where it sounds gray is if you considered yourself as the permanent owner/occupant of both your unit and the unit you want to rent out on AirBnB and then you would be renting a hosted unit.