Hosting On Airbnb Cost Me My $2M House, Woman Says

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, BROOKLYN — Tatiana Cames believes she lost her three-family house because the city used her as an example of its power over Airbnb hosts.

“They used me as their press tool,” said Cames, a former real estate broker who made headlines in 2017 as one of the first homeowners to be penalized under the city’s new ban on short-term rentals.

“I was subject to harassment by the gestapo-like mayor’s task force … It did quite a bit of damage.”

Cames was one of the the very first New York City landlords to be penalized for advertising space on the home-sharing platform after Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into state law a ban on advertising apartment rentals for fewer than 30 days when there's not a permanent resident home.

Cames was slammed with $25,000 in fines, her building was placed under a vacate order and she spent months fighting violations in Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings courtrooms, the Brooklyn homeowner said.

"[It's] treating homeowners who host lovely foreign families as criminals," said Cames.

After news hit that Cames had allegedly violated the state's real estate laws, she was fired from Corcoran.

And the OSE's vacate order meant she couldn’t find tenants — short- or long-term — for the three-family building she bought for $2.1 million in 2015.

The lack of income forced Cames to put the building at 320 Macon St. on the market, she said.

Cames is currently trying to sue the city, but attorneys tell her the amount she'll pay them to navigate the complexities of housing court and Airbnb laws mostly likely won’t be worth the reward.

“The cost wouldn’t warrant the lawsuit,” Cames said. “It’s a Catch-22 no matter what you do.”

The fight between New York tenants, the hotel industry, Airbnb and city lawmakers is not over, but it has become mired by legal complexities and new regulations.

If you’re a New Yorker thinking about hosting on Airbnb, here’s what you need to know.

What’s allowed and what isn’t?
Under New York State law, city apartments in three-family buildings or larger cannot be rented for fewer than 30 days if the permanent resident is not also living in the apartment.

City law mandates one- and two-family homes have a certificate of occupancy that includes transient rental use. You can apply for this certification through the Department of Buildings, but they’ll most likely reject your application if the area isn’t zoned for those transient rentals.

Airbnb has a “One Host, One Home” rule, which means New York City hosts are only allowed to list entire home listings at one address.

Tenants and co-op owners should also get permission from their landlords and co-op boards if they want to become hosts.

How does the city investigate?
The City Council recently passed a bill that requires Airbnb and other home-sharing services to turn over hosts' names, addresses, listing URLs and other information to the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement, which goes after illegal short-term rentals. The bill has not yet been signed into law.

Who enforces the laws?
The Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement employs the agents who came pounding on Cames' door. The agents entered her building with permission, investigated her tenants, then wrote her up for violating the state’s short-term rental law, FDNY and Department of Buildings codes.

What are the fines and who pays them?
Under the new City Council bill, Airbnb will face a fine of at least $1,500, or the amount of fees collected on the listing in the preceding year, for each listing it don't disclose to the city or reports improperly.

Homeowners found guilty of violating the ban on advertising short-term rentals face $1,000 for the first offense, $5,000 for the second and $7,500 for the third.

And, as they did with Cames, OSE agents can also dole out fines to homeowners found violating DOB and FDNY codes.

Is anyone fighting these rules?
Airbnb has argued New York's stiff legislation targets homeowners who rely on their Airbnb income, leaving them vulnerable to hefty fines and intimidation from the city, but as of yet has not taken legal action.

But a Sunset Park host named Stanley "Skip" Karol filed suit against the city and claimed he was slapped with a $32,000 fine for speaking out against the Airbnb bill passed last month.

His lawsuit is pending.

Will Airbnb help me if I am fined?
No. Its website for New York City hosts notes, “As a platform and marketplace we do not provide legal advice.”

Photo courtesy of ArthurStock/Shutterstock