New law cracks down on illegal hotels; mayor thanks HTC for support

August 23, 2010 8:00 PM

On July 23, 2010, a bill that will help the city shut down illegal hotels was signed into law by Governor David Paterson. According to the New York Daily News, and statements by Governor Paterson and Mayor Bloomberg, the new law enhances the city's ability to take effective enforcement action against landlords who rent apartments in residential buildings as hotel rooms. It removes existing ambiguities in both municipal and state law by providing a clear definition of "permanent occupancy" and specifying that in "class A" residential buildings units can only be rented out for 30 days or more.

The steadily-increasing growth of illegal hotels in New York takes business away from true hotels and takes housing away from communities. HTC endorsed the bill and was a strong supporter of it as it worked its way through the legislative process. In his statement on the new law, Mayor Bloomberg thanked the union for its support.