New York City Judge Rules That Renting Apartments Using Airbnb Illegal

A judge has ruled that a New Yorker who rented his apartment on a popular traveler site broke the law.

East Village condo owner Nigel Warren was ordered to pay a $2,400 penalty for subletting his apartment to a Russian tourist in December on the Airbnb.com website.

The judge says he broke the law because he rented it for fewer than 30 days and wasn’t home while the tourist occupied it.

Rental agreements are legal under state law only if the “host” remains home during the rental period.

Airbnb aided Warren’s defense. It’s lobbying Albany to change the 2011 law. Warren said he hoped the ruling wouldn’t hurt Airbnb.

The New York Post reports that as of Tuesday, 22,704 New York City rentals were listed on the Airbnb site.