Apartments in New York
 

Travelling with family of 8 to New York in October looking at an apartment in Harlem. Not sure about areas in New York to stay and wondering about Harlem area.

Or if anyone has stayed Ina great apartment for between three and four hundred dollars a night for 6 adults and 2 teenagers would really appreciate your advice.

Almost all short term apartment rentals in NYC are ILLEGAL.
NYC is cracking down on this, so more tourists are finding their booking cancelled at the last minute.
There are legal apartment style hotels, such as the Beacon, Radio City Apartments, Affinia properties, and others.

You do not want to break the law by staying in an illegal apartment and risk:

Having it cancelled before you get here
Arriving to find it isn;t available and you have to find a hotel on the spot
Risking being scammed of all you have paid

Renting apartments for less than 30 days is illegal in NYC and the city is cracking down on the people doing this. More than 1,000 Air BnB apartments have already been pulled form the market and the number being shut down is increasing all the time, esp since the city is encouraging legal tenants to report these illegal listings (since it compromises the security of the building). there is a special city team working on this and finding apts as quickly as possible, fining the landlords and shutting them down - putting the apartments back into long-term rental by locals.

If I were you I would not want to do business with a criminal in locating lodging but stick with hotels which comply with city fire and safety laws.

There are a bunch of hotel that are apartment style - listed above. If you provide your specific dates and nightly budget people ca help you identify options.

Finally - have you checked the apartment you are looking at - to see if it actually exists (check google street view) and how many good reviews it has. Do not believe any representations from the landlord or agency unless they guarantee you that the apartment is legal (they won't do this).

As for Harlem there are some streets that are quite pleasant and others not so much. You really need to provide a specific address for info. If the renter will not provide a specific address - that is a good sign it's a scam.

There are some legal places in Harlem on VRBO. My son and family are staying in one in December but it only sleeps 4. These are normally places where the family own the house, and are renting out another floor which has been converted to an apartment. When you look at the fee, it will include tax.

The above is legal only if the house has been zoned as a 2 family house - which is VERY rare in Manhattan. If the owners are renting out 2 or more apartments it is still illegal.

I would not believe any owner unwiling to provide official city documentation of the status of the building.

They are renting out one apartment nytraveller.

I can recommend this 3 bedroom apartment in Central Harlem:



https://www.flipkey.com/new-york-cit...ntals/p216183/

Since short-term apartment rentals in NYC are generally illegal, I'd go with a cheaper hotel. Rooms at the Country Inn & Suites in Long Island City can accommodate 4 people each and are usually under $150 and include free breakfast.

I realize that a hotel of any kind doesn't give you the same feel as an apartment, but it just seems foolish to me to take the risk during the highest of high seasons, when you'll have few options indeed if this doesn't work out. Also, apartments that can accommodate that many people in NYC are exceedingly rare.

You could get two rooms at Radio City Apartments, which despite the name is a hotel. It's an older reliable property with a great location that books up far in advance.

ek -

This apartment is actually in Hell's Kitchen - not Harlem - and I can't tell if it's legal or not.

The map on the flipkey show's Hell's Kitchen and the listing title says Midtown. But if you read the entire description it says Harlem. I read a few of the first couple of reviews and they also said Harlem. A bit odd.

The apartment is in Harlem regardless of the map.

Thank you , so even those apartments on Tripadvisor which are we have used to book apartments in otherAll very confusing as countries is not reliable even with their current reviews? All very confusing as we have found most hotel rooms for 4 have two double beds and because of our 4 teenagers we are travelling with they do not appreciate not having their own bed.Some of the apartments on trip advisor did have bunk beds.

Sorry should have reread more closely , should have read So even those apartments which are on Tripadvisor are not reliable even with their current reviews? We have used Tripadvisor to book apartments in Paris and Hawaii and it has been exactly as advertised.

nelsonian on May 15, 16 at 8:39pm
That is a lovely apartment.

Sorry, that was ekscrunchy.

Apartments are perfectly legal in some places, not in others. It depends on the law in each place. Paris is also now cracking down on rentals too as most are illegal there too. One of the major issues is that many apartment rentals don't bother to pay tax and as one would imagine, that doesn't sit well with officials. Paris has other concerns [not enough affordable apartments for people actually living in Paris full time since it is far more lucrative to rent to short term vacationers].

You can book, you can go and you can be lucky and not have issues. But...maybe not. You have to decide if you are willing to take the risk.

It doesn't matter on what website you find the apartment; that doesn't change the law.

The hotel search engines are worldwide and they just take listings as they are sent in . They don;t check to see if the hotels are as advertised and if apartments rentals are legal or not - since the laws differ all over the place.

(I have a friend who lives in a beach community in which occupation by more than 3 unrelated adults is illegal. They used to get lots of college groups/20s groups in the summer and didn't want them in a family neighborhood - way too much noise, public drunkenness, drunk driving, etc)

In NYC the issue is these apartments were intended for middle income and working families and the landlords are illegally renting to tourists to get more income and depriving locals of housing (we have a huge housing shortage of affordable units).

That is true of some, but not all, rentals in NYC.

Can understand both sides of the story but coming from a small coastal town which relies heavily on tourism we have more apartments for holiday makers than hotel/ motel accomodation. But appreciate all the advice and at this stage we look like booking two hotel rooms.

Almost all rental units in NYC are illegal. What is legal is:

Renting one room in an apartment in which the legal tenant is present (but likely still not allowed by the lease)

Renting one apartment in a family house with the owner living in it - but needs to be zoned as a 2 family house (VERY rare in Manhattan - but more common in some areas of the outer boroughs).

If there are 3 or more units (including the one in which the owner lives) short term rentals are illegal

Well NYS gets about 60 million visitors per year - but we have 9 million residents many of whom lack affordable housing, of which there is a huge shortage. The city has committed to creating more than 200,000 new affordable units in the next several years - but those plans tend to take longer than anticipated.

Yes, most units are illegal. Not all. Apparently there are many travelers who weigh their options and choose to rent from VRBO and other sites. There are probably are some people who have had trouble but since we rarely hear of any trouble befalling the renters, one can assume that most of the people who rent short term have not been thrown into jail or suffered fines or other negative consequences.

Best to be aware of the legal situation and then make your own decision.

There are people who will not dine at a restaurant rated a "B" by the Dept of Health. Maybe I willl start a thread on that!

There are tons of ads on AirB&B. Are you saying those are all illegal offerings?

Yup.

Just because a place is listed on TA/Flipkey, VRBO, AirBnb, etc. does not make it a legal rental.
Even if they had the inclination, those companies do not have the time, money or manpower to verify the legality of their listings.

They are not all necessarily illegal. Especially the Air B&B ones where the person is just renting out part of his or her apartment. Some buildings have rules against this sort of thing, but some do not.

You have to take each one, case by case.


As I said, plenty of people rent these places each year and I have never heard of a problem befalling the renters of even a rental that is not compliant with NYC law. I'd be more concerned with whether or not the rental lives up to its billing on the rental site. There is less room for error, but not none, with a hotel.

Ekscrunchy, on tne Trip Advisor forum, there are many horror stories of people showing up to have no place to stay when booking an apartment in NYC.

Sorry but MANY people have been scammed by fake listings and many others have had apartments canceled out from under them - either a few weeks in advance or upon arrival (owner decides they don't want to risk the fine if caught) since many legal tenants are becoming more activist in making reports.

I had the experience myself, with a couple of young women from Italy who were "rented" a non-existent apartment in my building and were out a lot of money they paid in advance.

Why is it okay for Fodor's posters to rent an apartment in Paris where it's illegal also, but not okay in New York?

Of course there are many people that have been scammed by fake rentals! Obvious.

What I said, or meant to say, above, was that I have never heard of a renter who has suffered consequences of renting in a non-compliant rental. Not trotted off to jail, not fined, etc etc.

I gave a link to a nice rental apartment to someone looking in Harlem. Enough said.

I've seen plenty of posts on the Europe board warning about apartment rental in Paris.

"Why is it okay for Fodor's posters to rent an apartment in Paris where it's illegal also, but not okay in New York?"

Who said that? You have apparently not been on the Europe board lately. It is a very hot topic there too.

No the renter is not trotted of to jail or fined - they are not committing the crime. The landlord is committing the crime the renter is merely benefiting from the crime - like buying stolen goods. (If you are found with them they are confiscated and you are not repaid.)

But the renter can easily have the apartment canceled by a landlord now afraid of the consequences - either just in advance or when they actually arrive - and then have to find an apartment on the spot And there are still quite a few that are scams - no apartment at all or a bait and switch to a much smaller apt in a nasty building.

There was a poster here a few months ago who had been promised a 3 bed 2 bath apt in a luxury building and ended up with (if I remember exactly) a one bedroom high floor walk up with mattresses all over the floor and a bug infestation.

Received by air b n b owners today:


From: Airbnb Action <[email protected]>Sent: Monday, May 16, 2016 6:03 PM

Subject: Contact your state lawmakers to oppose A8704B

Airbnb Action


Big news -- tomorrow, the New York Assembly’s Housing Committee will vote on an unfair, anti-home sharing bill, and we need your help to stop it.
The sponsors of this bill claim that its intent is to punish commercial operators who list several entire units, but it is written so broadly that it could also unfairly punish New Yorkers who occasionally rent out their own home when they leave town to make extra money.
Email The Housing Committee
Put simply, this bill, A8704B, treats New Yorkers who share their homes occasionally the same as commercial operators who run illegal hotels. That’s not right!
Everyday New Yorkers who share their homes from time to time use the extra money they make to pay their mortgage, start small businesses, and make ends meet. Why are our elected officials considering legislation that would impose fines on regular New Yorkers? Our lawmakers should be looking at ways to help everyday New Yorkers during this time of rising rents and stagnant incomes, not trying to impose fines on them. Can you take a moment to send an email to the Housing Committee and ask them to vote against A8704B? It only takes a minute, and it could make a big impact.
What New York really needs is a thoughtful, sensible regulatory approach to home sharing that protects the responsible people and weeds out the bad actors. Bills like this one don't provide any solutions that help the tens of thousands of middle class New Yorkers who want to share their homes to make ends meet.
Please take a stand against this bill and email the Housing Committee right now.
Thank you for being a part of this!
Sincerely,
The Airbnb Action Team



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Maybe the Housing Committee is looking out for people who don't want to share their building with a bunch of random strangers.

Are there really "tens of thousands of middle class New Yorkers who want to share their homes to make ends meet"???

I wouldn't be surprised at that actually.

No - much of it is either:

A legal tenant who now lives outside of NY and rents out their whole apartment to a series of short-term tenants

Landlords who pull apartments off the market when a tenant leaves and rents out only short-term to get much higher income

And most NYers HAYE Air BnB and many more legal tenants are turning in those who are subletting apartment illegally

I'd like to hear more about the many legal tenants who are turning in illegal subletters.

Is there a link you can provide?

And what are the consequences? (Note that I am not asking what SHOULD BE the consequences, but what action has actually been taken against those subletters)?

And to clarify, I am not asking about landlords with a string of sublets for rent or entire buildings converted into short-stay hotels. My question is about NYC residents who rent out their apartment.