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identified as severely rent burdened, indicating they spend more than 50 percent of their
income on housing, an increase from 24 percent in 2000.
20
Of households earning below 80
percent of area median income, almost half – 49 percent - are defined as severely rent
burdened, up from 40 percent in 2000.
21
These challenges in the housing market are influenced by a multitude of complex and
interrelated issues that range from employment opportunities and migration trends to city and
state housing policies to interest rates. This report is designed to explore one particular issue
that has been thought to exacerbate the availability of affordable housing in New York City: the
short-term rental of residential housing. Short-term rentals, housing units leased for less than
30 days, have existed in New York City for decades. In the early 2000’s, several single-room
occupancy (SRO) residential buildings in the Upper West Side of Manhattan were converted to
short-term rentals. SRO units, which generally do not have private bathrooms or kitchen
facilities and are often considered the housing of last resort for New York City’s lowest income
residents. However, landlords were able to secure considerably higher rates by renting these
units on a nightly basis to travelers or others seeking short-term housing. In recent years, the
emergence of online platforms, such as Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com, Craigslist, Homeaway,
and Roomorama, have fostered growth of the short-term rental market by expanding access
for both hosts and users.
Proponents hail short-term rental platforms as economic development engines that allow
peripheral neighborhoods to capture tourist revenue that was once more heavily concentrated
in areas known as traditional tourist destinations.
22
Additionally, online short-term rental
platforms have been celebrated for creating opportunities for individuals to supplement their
income.
23
Yet, opponents of the rapidly growing short-term rental market argue that the trend
negatively impacts neighborhoods and the residential rental market. First, this kind of rental
activity within a neighborhood can contribute to constrained supply and increasing prices for
Additionally, short-term rentals have been found to consistently flout zoning and safety
regulations.
25
Most notably, short-term rentals are likely to violate the Multiple Dwelling Law in
New York State, which is designed to uphold health, safety, and fire protection standards. The
20
New York University Furman Center, State of New York City’s Housing and Neighborhoods in 2015: 67.
22
See, for example, Kaplan and Nadler, “Airbnb: A Case Study in Occupancy Regulation and Taxation,” The
University of Chicago Law Review Dialogue, 103, (2015): 104-107, and the San Francisco Budget and Legislative
Analyst's Office, Re: Analysis of the Impact of Short-Term Rentals on Housing, prepared for Supervisor Campos.
24
See, Roy Samaan, Airbnb, Rising Rent, and the Housing Crises in Los Angeles, (LAANE, March 2015), Dayne
Lee, “How Airbnb Short-Term Rentals Exacerbate Los Angeles’ Affordable Housing Crises: Analysis and Policy
Recommendations,” Harvard Law Review, Vol. 10, (2016) 229-253, Ariel Stulberg, “How Much Does Airbnb
impact rents in NYC?” The Real Deal, October 14
th
, 2015. Accessed March 25
th
, 2016,
http://therealdeal.com/2015/10/14/how-much-does-airbnb-impact-nyc-rents/, Office of the New York Attorney
General, Airbnb in the city, (October, 2014), and San Francisco Budget and Legislative Analyst's Office, Re:
Analysis of the Impact of Short-Term Rentals on Housing.
25
See, Office of the New York Attorney General, Airbnb in the city: 2, 8.