An Upper West Side landlord is suing one of his tenants who has been renting out rooms in her apartment on Airbnb since February of 2012, the Post reports. According to the suit, tenant Noelle Penraat rents a four-bedroom duplex in the Central Park-bordering Brookford for $4,477 per month and rents out three of the rooms on the controversial apartment-sharing website for between $75 and $150 a night. The landlord alleges that she makes $8,883 a month running her little mini-hotel, although that would mean that all three of the rooms were occupied basically every night for two years, which, while plausible, doesn't seem that likely.
It sounds like Penraat stays in the fourth bedroom while hosting — reviews describe her as "an attentive hostess" and "so helpful" — which cuts down on the questionable legality of the situation. However, it's also fairly safe to assume that her apartment is rent-stabilized (other four-bedrooms in the building rent for $16,000/month) which would not be a point in her favor. Other rent-stabilized tenants have gotten in trouble in the past, and even faced eviction, for profiting off their subsidized apartments through Airbnb.
· Upper West apartment being run like a hotel on Airbnb: suit [NYP]
· Airbnb coverage [Curbed]
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