NYC Homeowners Call for Change to New Short-Term Rental Law

When New York City passed and began enforcing its overly strict short-term rental law, Local Law 18, many hard-working families who relied on income from sharing their homes were financially devastated. 

While intended to curb bad actors in the short-term rental market, increase affordable housing, and lower rents, one year after its passage, the law’s only clear impact is that small homeowners have been left without an important source of income, and now find themselves more vulnerable than ever. 

Since Local Law 18 was enacted, hundreds of one- and two-family homeowners who live in their homes and relied on supplemental income from home sharing joined together to advocate as RHOAR: Restore Homeowner Autonomy & Rights. Hailing from all five NYC boroughs, RHOAR members are working New Yorkers, single parents, caregivers, artists, designers, small business owners, schoolteachers, homemakers, and retirees. Nearly half the group’s members have owned their homes for more than a decade, raising their families and building community in the city, aiming to age in place.

In a recent survey of its members, RHOAR found that over the last year lost income from short-term rental equated to an average of 13 mortgage payments per homeowner. As it only takes four missed mortgage payments to send a homeowner into pre-foreclosure status, many of RHOAR’s members have experienced unprecedented financial hardship over the past year. Some have faced bankruptcy, lost their homes, been forced to come out of retirement, and even been forced to leave NYC. Some now begrudgingly rely on government assistance programs, while others have made the difficult decision to forgo health insurance or home heating just to stay in their homes.

While homeowners have been hit hardest, prohibiting home sharing across the board also eliminated many accommodations across Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx, limiting access for visiting friends, family and caretakers. Many families can no longer afford to visit NYC with the skyrocketing hotel prices. Small neighborhood businesses have felt the impacts too, losing critical tourism dollars that are still needed to bounce back from Covid losses. 

After nearly a year of grassroots advocacy and thousands of letters into City Hall from homeowners across NYC’s five boroughs, the New York City Council recently introduced new legislation—Bill 1107—to restore short-term rental rights to small, neighborhood homeowners. The new amendments to Local Law 18 apply only to registered one- and two-family homeowners who live in their homes and do not create any exemptions for investors, speculators or entities buying or renting homes for short-term rental use. 

RHOAR has long voiced its support for regulating the short-term rental market, for the safety and preservation of communities and to address the critical shortage of NYC housing. But because one- and two-family homes used full-time by the homeowner are considered private dwellings, these units are not part of the open rental market and therefore do not impact long-term rental availability or pricing.

RHOAR and its members greeted Bill 1107 with relief and thanks for a City Council that is prioritizing housing and affordability, and not just for renters. NYC neighborhoods thrive through the stability of owner-occupied homes. Passing Bill 1107 will mean increasing the economic tools available to NYC homeowners to maintain and stay in their homes, creating stability for the city’s most vulnerable homeowners and the local communities and businesses that depend on them.