New York City Council Wants More Funding to Go After Airbnb Scofflaws

"The [New York} City Council hopes to pump up a task force targeting illegal home rentals—a move that could deflate Airbnb," reports Will Bredderman.

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson is asking for an additional $2 million in funding for the Office of Special Enforcement above what Mayor Bill de Blasio suggested in his budget proposal.

The new funding would allow more aggressive enforcement of short-term rental regulations, most of which have been implemented at the state level in New York. "In most cases, state law requires that a permanent occupant remain on-site whenever paying guests stay in an apartment or house for fewer than 30 days. The state also passed a law in 2016 outlawing the advertising of arrangements that would violate this rule," according to Bredderman.