Two years after New York City implemented a sweeping crackdown on Airbnb, a new report reveals the law has done little to address the city’s housing crisis.
Local Law 18, enacted in 2023, was intended to curb short-term rentals and return thousands of units to the long-term housing market. While it succeeded in reducing complaints about noisy tourists and bolstered hotel occupancy, it failed to lower rents or significantly increase apartment availability, according to data reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Median Manhattan rent has now hit a record $4,700, and vacancy rates have dropped to just 2.45% — one of the lowest in recent history. “The law doesn’t seem to have a material impact in making rents more affordable,” said Jonathan Miller, CEO of appraisal firm Miller Samuel.
Airbnb echoed that sentiment, arguing the law removed only a small portion of the housing stock — roughly 38,500 units — from a market of over one million apartments. Some former short-term rentals weren’t even converted into legal long-term housing, remaining dormant instead.
“Rents have actually risen faster in neighborhoods that once had the highest number of Airbnbs,” said Nathan Rotman, Airbnb’s North America policy director. “The law has only made the affordability crisis worse.”
Meanwhile, New York City officials defend the crackdown, saying every unit counts in a city with an ongoing housing shortage. “We can’t afford to lose a single unit,” said Christian Klossner, who oversees the law’s enforcement.
Hotels, however, have emerged as big winners. Average occupancy has surpassed pre-ban levels, with nightly rates up 7% since 2023, boosted in part by thousands of migrants housed in hotels at city expense. Industry players, including hotelier Richard Born, say the ban prevented a “catastrophic” oversupply of short-term rentals.
With only about 3,000 legal Airbnb units now operating under strict rules — including mandatory registration and bans on room-locking — Airbnb is pushing back. The company has spent more than $3.6 million on lobbying and political campaigns, targeting candidates sympathetic to loosening restrictions.
The fight is intensifying ahead of the 2026 World Cup, expected to bring a flood of tourists to New York. Airbnb argues that locals who used the platform to help pay their rent or mortgage have been unfairly impacted. CEO Brian Chesky warned last year, “A lot of New Yorkers were regular people dependent on Airbnb.”
Opponents, including tenants’ unions and the influential Hotel Trades Council, have spent nearly $2 million defending the law. They argue loosening the rules would siphon more housing into the short-term market and worsen affordability.
City Council Member Gale Brewer, once inundated with complaints about “revolving-door party guests,” says those issues have vanished. “Since the law passed, I never heard another word about that,” she said.
Still, with rents higher than ever and housing availability shrinking, critics are questioning whether the tradeoff — less chaos, but the same unaffordable housing — was worth it. As the city gears up for upcoming elections, the battle over who controls New York’s apartments is far from over.
