Future unclear for range of housing bills in NYC Council, including looser Airbnb rules

It’s coming down to the wire for several controversial housing bills in New York City.

The City Council is holding its last meeting of the term Thursday, and members are bracing for a possible showdown over a several measures. Those include a proposal to open up the city to more short-term rentals, a bill that would give tenants and community groups the first shot at buying apartment buildings, and another to establish new affordable housing rules.

Negotiations over the measures could last through the next two days, and lame-duck councilmembers will no doubt make their voices heard in the Council's final meeting of 2025.

“We’re doing a lot,” said Housing Committee Chair Pierina Sanchez, a Bronx Democrat. “The housing crisis has dominated our agenda over the past four years.”

But with just 24 hours to go before the scheduled meeting, she said the final agenda was "shockingly still not finalized.”

Councilmembers had been considering around 20 housing-related measures, before dropping most of them, she said.

A City Council spokesperson said Thursday's agenda was not yet final, but did not answer questions about the delay.

What is certain is that one piece of legislation intended to force co-ops to explain why they reject an applicant won’t come to the floor. The Council killed the bill despite majority support among members.

Here’s how the City Council could shape housing policy in its final meeting.

Will the Council let Airbnb back into NYC?

Back in August 2023, Airbnb featured about 10,000 listings in New York City. That all changed when a new law took effect blocking the company from paying “hosts” unless the property owner received explicit approval from the city to list their units on short-term rental platforms. The number of legal Airbnb listings plummeted to around 400 almost overnight.

Airbnb has spent millions of dollars in the following years lobbying to overturn the city’s restrictions, or at least tweak them. A handful of councilmembers have proposed new legislation that would allow more owners of one- and two-family homes to legally list their properties for stays of less than 30 days. A group of homeowners, with funding from Airbnb, have become the public face of the effort, arguing they have suffered financially since the crackdown.

The latest short-term rental bill would allow owners of one- and two-family homes to rent units to up to four adults at a time without being present in the unit and without getting approval from the city.

The city’s powerful hotel industry and labor union have opposed the attempt to legalize more short-term rentals. And tenant advocates say the listings remove more apartments from the housing market during a serious shortage.

The battle could be coming to a head this week, as both sides attempt to rally councilmembers to their cause. Current Speaker Adrienne Adams has backed short-term rental reform. Incoming Speaker Julie Menin, a key ally of the hotel workers union, is opposed to loosening the rules.

If the bill is taken up for a vote and passes, it will take effect in June — days before over 1 million people are expected to visit the area for World Cup matches in New Jersey. But that is still a big if.

Will community groups get a head start on buying buildings?

A piece of legislation that would give community groups, nonprofits and some private developers first dibs on building sales has gradually gained momentum over the past three years.

The latest version of the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, or COPA, would apply to buildings that have accumulated serious housing code violations, have unpaid property taxes, or have affordability agreements that are about to expire, as in the case of long-term tax abatements offered to developers in exchange for capping rents for low- and middle-income tenants.

The real estate industry has attempted to torpedo the legislation, arguing it would slow sales and punish owners by imposing a new regulation on transactions.

“COPA in any form is an illegal taking of private property,” said Small Property Owners of New York Board President Ann Korchak. “The proponents pitch it as community empowerment, but it is nothing more than a pipeline for backroom deals, vulnerable to bribery and corruption, that will end in the destruction of affordable housing and extinction of small, immigrant, family-owned buildings.”

But the measure's supporters say opponents are overstating its impact. They argue the legislation would merely give nonprofits and private companies a chance to put together the money needed to purchase properties and compete with big-money investors and corporations.

“This law will apply to a small but strategic subset of buildings,” said Will Spisak, senior policy strategist at the New Economy Project. “It's creating a new process where we can intervene in the market when landlords are selling distressed properties and properties with expiring affordability restrictions.”

Among the bill’s notable supporters is Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who called for passing the measure in his campaign platform.

A cure for the disappearing three-bedroom?

New affordable housing development in the city overwhelmingly favors studios and one-bedrooms — helping to address the need for housing among single individuals and couples, but offering few options for families.

It’s certainly cheaper and more efficient to pack smaller units into apartment buildings. Officials from the city’s housing agency also say their research shows there is more demand among single adults than families for new housing. There's also an added bonus: The current arrangement allows mayors to claim larger production numbers.

But advocates for large units, including Councilmember Eric Dinowitz, say the city is helping drive families out of the city by not subsidizing housing that can accommodate them.

Dinowitz introduced a bill in October requiring projects financed by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to have at least a quarter of the units be two-bedrooms and at least 15% be three-bedrooms.

“Families are fleeing New York City,” he said. “If they’re not leaving, many of them are either rent-burdened or making up the vast majority of people in our shelters, and our government doesn’t incentivize the production of family-sized units.”

The Council is likely to vote on the measure Thursday, along with another bill requiring the city to finance more apartments for the lowest-income New Yorkers.

Opponents of the measures span the political spectrum.

The left-leaning Fiscal Policy Institute issued an analysis earlier this month finding the bills will drive up construction costs and limit the total number of new units produced.

“The Council's bills, while well-intentioned, will cause major delays and cost increases that will threaten the mayor-elect’s affordable housing agenda,” the institute's Chief Economist Emily Eisner in a statement.

Real Estate Board of New York President James Whelan said the “city will pay more per unit, deliver fewer homes overall and continue to fall short in producing at a scale New Yorkers need” if the new requirements pass.

Will co-op boards finally have to disclose why they reject applicants?

Nope.

The Council has definitely declined to bring a co-op disclosure bill to a vote, despite the measure having majority support.

After years of languishing in committee, the bill received a Council hearing earlier this month. But co-op boards are against it and say disclosure could expose them to lawsuits. Some powerful members with large co-ops in their districts, like Speaker Adams and Councilmember Gale Brewer, opposed the bill.

Its supporters, including Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, say co-op boards can circumvent fair housing rules and mask discrimination because they are not required to explain why they reject an applicant.

The death of the bill means co-op boards can continue to reject applicants without a reason.