Since Governor Andrew Cuomo passed legislation that imposes fines up to $7,500 on Airbnb users who advertise illegal short-term rentals, the city has issued fines over the course of three months on 139 listings found to be in violation. The problem, however, is that there are over 23,000 more listings that are potentially illegal so in reality, the city has barely scratched the surface. According to a report from Crain’s, at the rate the city is going, it’ll take the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement 43 years to get around to all of those listings.
Part of the problem is that Airbnb supposedly doesn’t keep track of which types of homes are listed on their site, making it difficult for the city to know just how many listings are illegal ads for multiple dwelling units, reports Gothamist. Officials are more concerned with going after owners of these types of listings than they are with single-family home owners that list their properties to make extra cash.
Mayor de Blasio has budgeted $1.6 million to increase the number of inspectors to catch violators and enforce the legislation. The city is also hoping that after making a few examples, people will remove illegal listings on their own, eliminating the need to crack down on every advertisement.