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Brookfield sues Midtown tenants over illegal Airbnb scheme

Landlord claimed five tenants used nine units at 315 West 33rd Street

A photo illustration of The Olivia at 315 West 33rd Street (Brookfield Properties, Getty Images)
A photo illustration of The Olivia at 315 West 33rd Street (Brookfield Properties, Getty Images)

Brookfield Properties is trying to clean house in a Midtown West apartment building after tracking down what it describes as an illegal Airbnb operation.

The landlord sued five tenants at The Olivia, the Commercial Observer reported, claiming they rented out nine apartments on the short-term stay platform. While Brookfield has tried to evict those tenants from the 333-unit building at 315 West 33rd Street, the lawsuit aims to remove the ones who have refused to leave.

Brookfield said the operation began in 2020, according to a complaint filed in New York County Supreme Court. The landlord didn’t learn about it until the following year, when smart-lock company Latch showed strangers coming in and out of the unit for short-term stays, generally prohibited by state law.

Tenants complained of noise and smoke coming from the units and strangers wandering around after being locked out of their apartment, according to the complaint.

Brookfield last August served Mei Ru and Rui Wang with an eviction notice, which they only complied with after the case went to court. But court records say the pair brought three other residents into the fold, some of whom have refused to leave, despite eviction notices.

An Airbnb listing for an apartment in the building charges $528 per night. Rental units at The Olivia typically range from $4,100 to $8,000 per month.

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Brookfield is seeking to bar the five tenants from renting apartments in the building, as well as $70,000 in back rent and legal fees. The money could help the landlord if it is fined by the city, which has been cracking down on illegal Airbnbs.

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Housing advocates have for years pushed for action from the city to stop apartments being used for short-term rentals. Legal action against some arrangements have come as record high prices and low inventory worsened the city’s affordable housing crisis in the wake of the pandemic.

The city in July sued real estate broker Arron Latimer, who is accused of running a $2 million illegal short-term rental operation across six buildings in the city.

The city has a short-term rental registration program that will take effect in January. The law is designed to stop platforms such as Airbnb from processing transactions unless registration information matches a city database.

Brookfield Premier Real Estate Partners agreed to purchase the mixed-use building on West 33rd Street in 2020 from SL Green for $446.5 million. The property is 36 stories tall and includes 270,000 square feet of commercial space.

— Holden Walter-Warner

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