Local Law 18, also known as the “Short-Term Rental Registration Law,” requires owners and/or renters (hosts) who want to rent out their residential units for less than 30 days to register with the New York City’s Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement (OSE) before doing so. This law should be a game changer for condo, coop and HOA boards that have been battling with short term renters in their buildings which prohibit short term renting. The NYC law also permits certain qualified owners, including association boards, to add their building to OSE’s “prohibited building list” to prevent any short-term rental of any dwelling unit therein. Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com and other short-term renting sites will be prohibited from authorizing bookings for unregistered short-term rentals. Short-term rentals that are properly registered, still are only allowed in Class-A multiple-dwelling buildings if the host remains in the same apartment with his or her guests, and no more than two guests are allowed at a time. The guests must also have unfettered access to all of the rooms located in that apartment.

Beginning Monday, March 6, 2023, boards can start registering their buildings for the “prohibited building list.” Building owners and boards should visit OSE’s website to access the registration or the prohibited buildings list application. OSE’s final rules (Rules), which also go into effect on March 6, 2023, provide that owners, boards, and/or managers of buildings that submit a prohibited building list application.

The application is going to require the following information:

1. The name of a natural person making the application;
2. A working phone number for the applicant;
3. An email address for the applicant;
4. The address of the building the applicant seeks to add to the list;
5. An explanation of the relationship between the owner and the applicant;
6. Any proof or documentation requested by the administering agency to substantiate the request where the administering agency has cause to require further verification; and
7. The applicant must also certify that leases and other occupancy agreements for dwelling units within the building prohibit short-term rentals.

To support such application requests, we suggest boards submit their governing documents which provide that short-term rentals are prohibited in their building and if it is not clear, a board resolution providing that such short-term rentals are prohibited.