Curbed New York has good news for all you world travelers based in New York City this morning! It looks like a ruling from a Manhattan Housing Court judge may have set a precedent allowing New Yorkers to legally rent out their apartments on Airbnb, despite the fact that New York City law explicitly prohibits subletting your apartment to someone for less than 30 days.
Justice Jack Stoller, who presided over the case, ruled that the owners of 33 Gold Street cannot evict a tenant for renting out her apartment on Airbnb, even though she was breaking New York City law and egregiously violating the terms of her lease which explicitly prohibits subletting.
In his decision, Stoller stated that the Multiple Dwelling Law was “generally aimed at the conduct of owners of property, not tenants.” The tenant, Kimberly Freeman, will have to stop renting out her apartment according to her landlord’s wishes, but she will not be evicted.
Freeman’s lawyer Kent Gubrud told the New York Post, “This latest decision will likely be very important to many Airbnb hosts who wish to challenge evictions under similar circumstances.” This is potentially a huge victory for all you adventurers who use Airbnb to cover overhead while you’re out of the city, but we’ll have to wait and see how far-reaching the ruling’s implications are.
h/t Curbed
