Tenant Shows Airbnb Rental Was for More Than 30 Days

DOB issued five violation notices to landlord based on transient use of an apartment building. These included violations for: (a) per-day penalties for transient use; (b) failure to maintain the building in a safe and code-compliant manner by not providing a sprinkler system or the required numbers of means of egress for transient use; and (c) failure to provide a fire alarm system for transient use.

The violations all were based on a DOB inspector's visit to the building, where he spoke to the three occupants of one apartment through the door. They told him they were from China and had rented the apartment through Airbnb for a few weeks. The tenant of that apartment testified on landlord's behalf, stating that his guests from China rented the apartment from him for about six weeks. The tenant showed emails to and from the rental service, as well as a booking confirmation for the claimed period.

The ALJ ruled for landlord and dismissed the violations since the occupants in question were in the apartment for more than 30 days. DOB appealed and lost. DOB claimed that the tenant presented insufficient proof that the rental in question was for more than 30 days. ECB found no reason to overturn the ALJ's ruling, which was based on findings concerning witness credibility.

DOB v. Sonora Associates, LLC: ECB App. No. 2000056 (2/6/20) [2-pg. doc.]