OSE is a task force made of several agencies. So one visit can produce summonses under Buildings, Fire and Housing rules as well as its own. Two separate sets of law are in play, and they work differently.
Local Law 18, the registration law
Since 9 May 2023, you cannot offer a short-term rental of an unregistered unit. You also cannot say a unit is registered when it isn’t. That covers anyone who owns, manages, occupies or controls the unit (§ 26-3102(a)).
Registration is deliberately hard to get. The person registering has to be a real person who actually lives there. You cannot transfer a registration to someone else. Rent-regulated units, NYCHA units and rooming units cannot be registered at all.
While you are renting, you have to do three things (§ 26-3103). Post the escape route diagram and the registration certificate inside the unit. Put the registration number in every ad. Keep your records for seven years.
What it costs, § 26-3104
| Offering an unregistered short-term rental | Up to $5,000 or three times what you made, whichever is less, per violation |
| A registered host breaking the rules | Up to $5,000 per violation |
| Lying on the application | Up to $1,000, plus they take your registration |
| Three or more violations in 24 months | They must revoke it |
Notice what this is not. The main fine does not go up for a second or third offence. It is capped by what you earned. So a small rental gets a small fine.
Some of it drops to zero
Four things can be fixed instead of paid. A missing escape diagram. A missing posted certificate. Application details that changed. And no registration number in the ad.
On a first violation of one of those, proving you fixed it brings the fine to $0.
Do the same one again and it cannot be fixed. That clock runs three years. Recordkeeping failures cannot be fixed at all, and they start higher.
The platform’s problems are not your problems
A booking site cannot take a fee unless it checked the listing through the city’s system, and it faces its own fines per booking. But the platform is not on the hook for your rental, and you are not on the hook for its paperwork.
The “prohibited buildings” list confuses almost everyone. It is a list owners opt into, and it blocks hosts in that building from registering. It carries no fine for the owner.
The illegal hotel route, § 28-210.3
This is separate from registration, and you can be hit with it on its own.
A unit in a Class A multiple dwelling can only be used as someone’s actual home. If you own or occupy it, you cannot use it, offer it or let it be used for anything else.
The code says this plainly: a change in use “may occur irrespective of whether physical changes have been made.” You do not have to build anything to be in violation.
“Permanent residence” means the same person or family living there for 30 days in a row or more. Guests staying with the person who lives there are fine. Someone staying while the resident is away is fine only if no money changes hands. That last line is what most cases turn on.
A first offence on one unit is usually a Class 2. It jumps to immediately hazardous if more than one unit is involved, or if it has happened at that address before.
Advertising an illegal short-term rental is its own violation under § 28-210.4. That runs $1,000 first, $5,000 second, and $7,500 for a third or more. And “advertise” is defined widely enough to cover a text message.
Who gets the summons
Under the registration law, the host. Under § 28-210.3, the owner, the occupant, or both.
Revocation is handled differently from a normal summons hearing. Read yours carefully to see which one you have.