Three years of NYC Local Law 18: Airbnb puts host losses at $110m a year

Local Law 18 is the reference case every city cites when it writes its own short-term rental rules, so what three years of data shows about it matters well beyond New York. Airbnb has published its version of that record, and it is arguing for amendment rather than repeal.

The law took effect in September 2023 and is the most restrictive short-term rental regime in the United States. On its third anniversary, Airbnb released an internal analysis putting the cost to owners of one- and two-family homes at approximately $110 million a year in lost short-term rental income, with typical host earnings in those homes down $15,500 annually.

The case Airbnb is making

The company's argument is that the law did not deliver what it promised. It cites three independent data points:

• Citywide rents have climbed to $3,730, a 14.8% increase since 2023, per StreetEasy's Rent Index.
• Despite a 92% drop in short-term rentals in New York after Local Law 18, the rental vacancy rate stood at 3.3% in August, per Apartment List — effectively unchanged from three years earlier.
• Hotel costs are up 21% over three years, roughly triple the national increase.

Airbnb also says listings in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island fell by over 90% after implementation, pushing visitors toward Manhattan hotels or New Jersey and moving visitor spending out of the outer boroughs.

"Local Law 18 has failed to increase housing and lower rents as promised, instead costing NYC homeowners $15,500 annually," said Nathan Rotman, Airbnb Director for North America Public Policy Strategy. "We agree with Council Members and communities advocating for reform that would restore this critical lifeline without affecting the rental market."

What Intro. 879 would change

A coalition of housing, civil rights and community organisations has joined homeowners in backing Intro. 879, introduced by council members from the outer boroughs. The bill would let hosts share their homes with up to four guests instead of two, lock bedrooms, closets or offices, and host while travelling for work or during large events. The primary-residence requirement and the rest of the law would stay in place.

Airbnb's release leads with two hosts. Mariana Gonzalez, a Pelham Gardens homeowner in the Bronx, says short-term rental income let her keep up mortgage payments through a divorce and care for her father after Hurricane Maria, and estimates she has lost roughly 45% of that income. Tonya Channell, who obtained Office of Special Enforcement approval to rent part of her Bed-Stuy home, describes living with the risk of an enforcement finding costing her the income she depends on.

Reading it

The $110 million and $15,500 figures come from Airbnb's own internal analysis and have not been independently verified; the rent, vacancy and hotel-cost numbers are third-party. The distinction is worth holding onto, because the correlation Airbnb draws — restriction without rent relief — is the argument every platform will bring to the EU's Affordable Housing Act debate and to the next city considering a registration regime.