New York has begun to apply a series of restrictions on short term rentals. A measure that the Airbnb tourist accommodation platform considers a “de facto” ban on its activity.

The new regulations require all hosts to register with local authorities, since New York prohibits the rental of entire apartments for less than 30 days when the owners are not present, but this type of business often does not respect it.

“The city send a clear message to the millions of potential visitors who will now have fewer options to stay in New York: they are not welcome,” Airbnb global policy director Theo Yedinsky said in a statement shared with EFE.

An Airbnb spokeswoman explained that New York regulations are an anomaly even among the cities that have decided to regulate tourist apartments, such as Los Angeles or San Francisco, which do allow hosts to offer their apartment without their being present.

He has also assured that Airbnb has spent years trying to work with the authorities to deal with to the problem of illegal apartmentsbut the city has decided to pass “new rules that create a ‘de facto’ ban on short-term rentals.”

The spokeswoman has questioned whether the measures could contribute to reducing the price of rentals in the Big Apple, which have a housing crisis. He also recalled that no city accounts for more than 1.5% of Airbnb’s income, not even New York, where more than 40,000 apartments are offered for tourism.

For his part, Airbnb’s Global Director of Public Policy, Theo Yedinsky, has assured that the company’s goal “has always been to work with the city of New York to create fair regulations on home sharing.”

“Under these regulations, New Yorkers cannot share their homes when they are away for work or travel. They are prohibited from having internal locks on the bedroom doors,” she argued.

In addition, the company has maintained that New Yorkers “have to certify that they understand numerous municipal codeslong and complicated”.

The Justice supported the New York regulations

In June, Airbnb sued the city and got the restrictions to take effect a few months later, as the regulations were expected to It will begin to apply on July 1.

However, a judge dismissed the lawsuit last month, considering that it is “rational” that the authorities want to control the legality of the apartments that are offered.

In a message on its website, the platform regrets that his claim was dismissedand reminds its hosts that as of today they have two options: register with the authorities or increase the time they offer their accommodations to more than 30 days.

However, Airbnb will not cancel reservations already made beginning before December 1. Those that start after December 2 and do not comply with the regulations will be canceled and the money will be returned to the guests.

According to The New York Times, the city estimates that some 10,000 Airbnb apartments by 2022 they were fraudulent.

As in other cities around the world subjected to tourist pressure, New York authorities believe that this proliferation of tourist apartments contributes to higher rental prices for permanent residents and aggravates the housing crisis in the city.

Despite the news, Airbnb shares on the New York Stock Exchange they rose 7% half an hour after the start of operations.