Almost all apt sublets in NYC are not "illegl". They are ILLEGAL.

If people choose to ignore that and rent anyway - that is their decision - and their risk. But they should understand that even if IT is not a scam and even if they pay by credit card - they have no recourse if things don't work out - since credit cards cannot provide coverage for illegal transactions.

http://ow.ly/27BEuk

So much for that ruling...nytraveler, I hope your energetic defense of law and order will apply to the latest ruling by NYC admin court.

It's now CLEARLY legal in the case discussed here. I'm sure you will be delighted to argue forcefully for those findings, given your clear legal bent.

All the ruling did was clarify that the owner needs to be in the apartment...that changes nothing as far a legality of renting out places for less than 30 days.

It says that rentals of less than 30 days are legal IF the owner is in the apartment.

So the question now becomes what right a tenant or owner has to rent if a building prohibits it or the tenant's own lease or sublease prohibits it. Most do prohibit short term rentals.

If the lease bans sublets the renter has NOT right to sublet. And being caught is grounds for abrogating the lease

Co-op and condo leases almost universally ban any subletting without the specific approval of the board and interview/financial background check of the subleter - so 95%+ of those buildings are out.

Standard rental leases in NYC also ban subletting without prior approval by the landlord.

If the owner is in the apt the current ruling seems to be that renting out an extra bed or an extra room is legal - if both the renter and the person renting are wiling to live in that proximity (usually sharing a bath) with strangers.

As always people who own their own houses (very rare in Manhattan but much more frequent in outer boroughs) can sublet rooms as allowed by fire and safety codes (cannot stuff 5 or 6 people in one room). The problem is that most of these places are in areas not very convenient to Manhattan - often a bus to a long subway ride - or more.

http://mobile.businessweek.com/artic...om-prosecutors

It was a very first post for brand new member gouda999, who clearly seems familiar with nytraveler's past opinions of airbnb.