Milstein Properties Wins Court Order Against Airbnb in NYC

Milstein Properties won an injunction against Airbnb in a case that may set a precedent for other landlords looking to enforce the city’s new short-term rental restrictions.

A state judge last Thursday issued the injunction against one of Milstein’s tenants at 30 West 63rd Street and Airbnb, barring the tech platform from posting the host’s advertisement.

It’s the first such order the state court has issued under the city’s Local Law 18, which in early September outlawed advertising of illegal short-term rentals on sites like Airbnb, VRBO and Booking.com.

“This very clearly now requires Airbnb to take seriously their obligations under Local Law 18 and to comply with the law,” said attorney Deborah Riegel of Rosenberg & Estis, which represents Milstein in the case.

A representative for Airbnb did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The law requires hosts to register their units with the mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement to ensure that platforms only advertise listings that comply with short-term rental regulations.

Milstein filed its lawsuit in early October, arguing that its tenant and Airbnb violated the law by advertising the listing despite the landlord’s having put its Upper West Side rental building on a list of properties not to be registered.

Airbnb had previously said it was complying with the law, suggesting that the special enforcement office had provided the tenant a registration code that allowed the listing.

A spokesperson for the city’s enforcement unit, however, said that no units in the West 63rd Street building have been registered. It is unclear how the tenant managed to post the listing.

The Milstein lawsuit is one of two early cases to test the new law.

Owners of a small Upper West Side walkup at 207 Columbus Avenue filed a similar suit in late September. The judge in that case issued a temporary restraining order.