Inspectors on each island try to enforce zoning laws. But with thousands of Airbnb listings and fewer than twenty zoning inspectors in each county, enforcement is problematic. Online listings do not provide enough evidence to prove that an Airbnb listing is illegal. Inspectors must obtain information such as the visitor`s name, length of stay and compensation documentation. Once the inspector has sufficient evidence and issues a violation, the Airbnb host has 30 days to make corrections or will be fined. Airbnb laws in Hawaii have become more complex in Oahu and other islands during the COVID-19 pandemic. The mayors of Maui, Big Island, and Kauai restricted vacation rentals in March 2020, but on June 16, 2020, they allowed legal Airbnbs to resume operations. Legal short-term holiday homes can now be operated; However, the state of Hawaii`s travel restrictions and other COVID-19-related mandates remain in place, with Governor Ige saying those regulations will remain in place until Hawaii reaches a 70% vaccination rate. «Anyone can go to Airbnb`s platform, Vrbo or HomeAway, and they can literally pull thousands of illegal listings,» Nguyen said. «We need to make sure that other parts of our state [without regulation] are protected from this proliferation of unregulated short-term rentals.» Airbnb is no stranger to controversy. Proponents argue that the service allows guests to rent more affordable accommodations, while opponents accuse Airbnb of hurting housing prices, supply and quality of life in the neighborhood. Cities have a wide range of approaches to dealing with service, from strict Santa Monica to fairly laissez-faire Amsterdam. Given this situation, every potential Airbnb host needs to know where their city falls on this spectrum.

Otherwise, they have a chance to be beaten with a harsh sentence or, if they are tenants, even evicted from their residence. If, as expected, thousands of homes return to the market, it will make a huge difference to thousands of families, especially those looking to rent long-term in a regulated environment. This is based on a recent study by Fairbnb, a collective of organizations calling for fair regulation of short-term rentals. Thorben Wieditz, a researcher for Fairbnb, said the report was created to inform Toronto City Council about the short-term rental situation. Here are 10 cities where finding an AirBnB can be harder than before, and what to expect when looking for stays in these destinations: Measure T should be treated as if it were stopped. Most lawsuits against imposed Airbnb regulations have not worked in Airbnb`s favor. Whether the measure remains in place or not, the exit of existing properties will take a few more years. In New York City, renting a house as a vacation Airbnb is illegal if you don`t live in the house. This will come as a shock to many, as New York is also Airbnb`s largest U.S. market. Currently, New York`s short-term rental laws prohibit renting an entire apartment, and this applies to most buildings.

The owner of an Airbnb must be present in the property and there must be no more than two «boarders». Prison sentences for illegal rentals are rare, but fines are no joke. Miami has the most expensive fines in the country for illegal short-term rentals. They start at $20,000 for the first hit. They go up to $20,000 per violation for three or more violations. In New York City, even advertising an illegal rental can be punished with fines of up to $7,500. In recent months, there have been reported raids on illegal rental housing that have made headlines. In November 2018, the city`s Airbnb law enforcement conducted one of their largest raids to date on a group of luxury apartments on the West Side, some of which were illegally rented on a short-term basis.

It has been reported that nearly two dozen condominium owners have received infringement orders. The city is really cracking down on illegal short-term rental activities and is holding protests to show that it will not tolerate illegal activities or landlords flouting the law. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is fully behind the crackdown. After obtaining one of these licenses, a vacation rental can legally operate in the state of Florida on one of the many websites of vacation rental providers.