The Manhattan attorney who won a landmark court decision to evict a man renting out his rent-stabilized apartment on Airbnb has received dozens of queries from landlords seeking to similarly boot tenants.
Last week’s ruling is the first to evict a rent-stabilized tenant outright for using Airbnb. Airbnb host Henry Ikezi had been renting out his discounted, $6,670 a month two-bedroom for $649 a night.
“I believe [the decision] will galvanize a lot of landlords to commence actions where they see this abuse,” Todd Nahins, who says he fielded 25 emails and six calls just hours after the ruling, told the Post. “I think the landlords believe that by bringing these actions they will have a shot . . . [whereas] they did not think they would be successful before.”
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman estimates that over 75 percent of the 35,354 Airbnb listings in New York City are illegal, according to the New York Post. [NYP] – Christopher Cameron