Illegal hotel rentals can be costly to owners

From the NY Observer:

Temporary apartment renting service Airbnb has had its share of tussles with New York law. In 2011, the city instituted an illegal hotels statute that makes it illegal for users to rent out their apartments for less than 29 days, effectively rendering Airbnb hosts subject to fines. Last September, the city council jacked up the fines that could be levied upon illegal hoteliers advertising their wares through Airbnb from $800 to $2,500.

Now, CNET reports that a New York administrative law judge has fined an Airbnb host $2,400 for breaking the illegal hotel law when he leased out part of his condo on the site, arguing that the unit “may only be used as private residences and may not be rented for transient, hotel, or motel purposes.”

Airbnb attempted to come to the rescue of the host, Nigel Warren, and helped get his fine knocked down from $7,000 after zoning charges were dismissed. But even with Airbnb’s crack team of experts at his side, Mr. Warren is still expected to pony up the $2,400.