NYC short-term rental rules: what is legal for a stay under 30 days

The short version

In New York City, a short-term rental means fewer than 30 days in a row. The city's Office of Special Enforcement says you cannot rent out an entire apartment or home for less than 30 days, even if you own or live in the building.

A stay under 30 days is only allowed when the host is present during the stay, there are no more than two paying guests, and the guests have free access to every room and exit. Doors inside the unit cannot have key locks. In other words, a room in someone's home, not a private apartment.

What Local Law 18 added

Local Law 18, the city's Short-Term Rental Registration Law, was adopted on January 9, 2022, and the city began enforcing it on September 5, 2023. Hosts have to register with the Office of Special Enforcement. Booking platforms such as Airbnb, VRBO and Booking.com are prohibited from processing transactions for unregistered short-term rentals.

The city also keeps a Prohibited Buildings List, and rent-stabilized tenants are not eligible to host.

What is still allowed

• Hotels. Whole-unit short stays are allowed in what the city calls Class B buildings, which includes hotels.
• A registered hosted stay: a room in the host's own home, with the host present and up to two paying guests.
• Any rental of 30 consecutive days or more. These are exempt from the registration law.

Who carries the risk

State law prohibits advertising an apartment in a regular residential building (the city calls these Class A) for under 30 days. The city says fines for doing so range from $1,000 to $7,500 and are issued to the person responsible for the advertisement.

For a guest, the risk is practical. A booking can be cancelled before you arrive, with a family or a team already on the way and hotel prices higher at the last minute.

How to check a listing before you pay

• Is it a whole apartment for under 30 nights? In New York City that is not allowed outside a hotel-type building.
• Will the host be living there during your stay? If not, a short stay does not fit the rules.
• Ask the host if the unit is registered with the Office of Special Enforcement.
• More than two guests on a short stay is a red flag.
• If the stay is 30 nights or more, get a written agreement that shows the dates.

New Jersey is different

These are New York City rules. In New Jersey, each town sets its own short-term rental rules, so check with the town before you book or host. Hotels are the simple option on the Jersey side too. See hotels in Jersey City and Hoboken.

What to book, by length of stay

• 1 to 29 nights: a hotel. See hotels in NYC and NJ, or group hotel blocks for a team.
• 30 nights or more: a furnished apartment or an extended stay hotel. See furnished housing and extended stay hotels.
• Not sure how long: start in a hotel and move to a monthly rental once the dates are firm. See mid-term rentals.

Need a legal place to stay?

Send your dates, the area and a nightly budget on the form below. A person checks rates and emails you hotel options. Nothing is booked until you approve. If the stay is 30 nights or more, say so in the notes and we will look at furnished apartments too. Or call (201) 241-2792.