The Wall Street Journal reported today that New York City building inspectors raided a Manhattan condominium last month in a crackdown on operators of illegal vacation rentals.
The Journal reported:
A team of New York City law-enforcement officers swarmed a Manhattan condominium last month, issuing 27 notices of violations for illegal hotel use in one of the largest crackdowns on short-term rentals such as those listed on Airbnb.
The raid at the Atelier, a 46-story Midtown luxury tower, may be a sign of what’s to come. New York and other cities are seeking to limit short-term rentals that can run afoul of local laws designed to limit hotel-style stays in residential buildings.
The violations went to 20 different apartment owners who allegedly rented to guests from at least 15 countries including Argentina and Spain. Some guests paid $400 a night, and one group of six from Switzerland paid a total bill of $3,823 for a short-term stay, according to city records.
In this case, the raid followed escalating tensions between apartment owners who live in the building, and investors who are cashing in on the vacation rental business. That’s certainly a tension common in many Hawaii neighborhoods, where vacation rentals have pulled thousands of housing units out of the rental pool available to residents.
Kahala is no different. Directly across the street from us are two homes used for illegal short term rentals.
In the past few days, two Ryder Metro Vans have appeared, as groups of vacationers have come in and out. It’s not clear why the vans are there, or which house they are associated with. It doesn’t look like the vans are set up to transport people. Are they moving lots of luggage? Party supplies? We’re hoping to find out.
Actually, though, the specific purpose doesn’t really matter. It’s just another way in which the illegal short-term rentals quickly turn neighborhoods into hotel zones. We would like to have neighbors across the street rather than an endless string of visitors. Is that asking too much?
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This is a sore spot in our Kihei, Maui neighborhood as well. We passed a ballot measure here increasing the fines on illegal rentals, but with no money allocated for enforcement, I suspect it will be about as effective as the public park smoking ban is.
That and mega-mansions are ruining the character of our local neighborhoods. The City is focusing too much on rail. Hey, let’s get bills passed to have them folk pay the $44m since they’re not paying their fair share of taxes.
We have to stop this now. Everyone who lives here has a stake in the survival of our neighborhoods. Tourists could drop us like a hot rock if we lose the characteristics they come here to appreciate.
” a tension common in many Hawaii neighborhoods, where vacation rentals have pulled thousands of housing units out of the rental pool available to residents.”
They’ve also pulled many housing units out of the pool for wannabe homeowners as well, and the increased demand has contributed to affordability issues.
Welcome to my world Ian. That van is probably party supplies. If it is, you can expect weddings and parties with a continuous stream of people and nowhere to park on your street. After years of tracking, complaining and testifying, our illegal vacation rental in Niu was finally issued a notice of violation but the DPP reduced the civil fines by $103,312.50, to a mere $5,687.50 (or the income from a one weekend booking). The DPP required the immediate removal of the property manager, who moved less than
one mile away into another oceanfront home in Wailupe and set up his weddings and
events business there to the detriment of those neighbors. It’s business as usual, because our illegal vacation rental can be found on Air BnB so the DPP’s fine reduction did absolutely nothing to deter the owner.