Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Jul 26, 2025

A New York City Airbnb has nearly $1M in fines. It hasn't paid any of them, new Bloomberg report says

A New York City Airbnb has nearly $1M in fines. It hasn't paid any of them, new Bloomberg report says

A home in Flushing, Queens, has accumulated nearly $1M in fines for its illegal use as an Airbnb. Now the city is trying to listings just like it.
A New York City home has accumulated nearly $1 million in fines over its illegal use as an Airbnb for years. It's just one of thousands like it.

The home in Flushing, Queens, has been on the city's radar for years, according to a new Bloomberg report, because it illegally housed people in its basement and attic. It has accumulated complaints, violations, and an order to vacate part of the building.

According to Bloomberg, it racked up more fines than nearly any other Airbnb in the city in 2021, and defaulted on more than $984,000 in penalties. The homeowner still hasn't paid those fines, Bloomberg reported.

The house sits at the center of a debate in New York between Airbnb, its hosts, and existing — and pending — short-term rental rules in the city.

Under a new law that goes into effect this spring, short-term rental hosts will have to register with the city, and Airbnb and companies like it won't be allowed to collect booking fees on unregistered properties, Bloomberg reported.

Hosts will have to submit several documents to the city, including a diagram with exit routes, proof the host is a resident of the building, and the number of non-host residents in the building.

For Airbnb and many of its short-term rental hosts, the rules pose a threat to the bottom line.

"Regular New Yorkers should be able to share their home and not be targeted by the city at a time when many families are trying to keep up with the rising cost of living," Nathan Rotman, Airbnb's regional public policy lead, told Bloomberg. "The rules as currently written will prevent the vast majority of New Yorkers from listing their homes, and we urge the administration to work with our host community to support a regulatory framework that helps responsible Hosts and targets illegal hotel operators."

But the city argues that short-term rentals deplete housing stock and push up costs for residents, according to Bloomberg. The city already cracked down on rentals in some cases: In July, Mayor Eric Adams' administration filed a lawsuit to shut down an illegal short-term rental operation.

"Safe, stable, and affordable housing is fundamental to a prosperous city, so we will not allow bad actors to deplete our housing stock and undermine our hospitality sector," Adams said in a press release.

The mayor also blamed fake host profiles on sites like Airbnb used "to deceive and lure unsuspecting guests into paying for substandard lodging at illegal rental listings."

The Queens home is in good company, Bloomberg reported. Of the 29,000 short-term rental listings in the city, about a third of them are listed illegally, according to the Adams administration.

But, even with a large portion of problematic listings and a growing pile of fines, experts say Airbnb hosts can't hide from regulations forever.

"If you're going to be a legitimate ongoing business concern you can't do this," Chris Slowik, a property lawyer and partner at Klein Slowik PLLC, told Bloomberg.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
×