New Report: Airbnb's Intro 948 and 1107 Would Drive Up Rents & Home Prices, While Displacing Working Families

NEW YORK, NY (11/18/2025) (readMedia)-- A new report from the Community Service Society of New York (CSS) finds that two Airbnb-backed Council bills, Intros 948 and 1107, would cause rents and home prices to increase while displacing working class New Yorkers. The report states that these measures would "prioritize real estate profits over the city's commitment to affordable housing" and urges Council Members to "stand firm in their commitment to housing affordability and tenants' rights" by rejecting both bills.

Airbnb unsuccessfully spent millions this year to overturn the city's housing laws before pivoting to Intro 948, a new bill that would go even further and upend decades of housing laws. Despite widespread opposition, the company is now aggressively pushing an eleventh hour attempt to rush through legislation before a new, pro-tenant Mayor can stop them.

The new report examines the expected impact of Intro 948 and Intro 1107 on New York's housing supply if the Council fails to stop Airbnb. According to the report, these bills would:

• Increase the price of purchasing a one- and two-unit property and fuel speculation
• Lead to more displacement for the nearly one in five New York City renters who live in small, market-rate buildings - a population that is disproportionately Black and low income
• Result in higher rents for homes in one- and two-unit properties

Read the full report here.

"Airbnb already failed to convince the Council to move their anti-tenant bill once, so now they're pushing an even more extreme version and lying through their teeth about how it would impact New Yorkers. But this report confirms Airbnb's bill would be a disaster for New Yorkers, driving up rents and pushing more families out of our city. No amount of spending can change the fact that Airbnb is only trying to benefit their shareholders and profit at our expense, which is why we're urging the Council to reject their desperate last stand to take our homes and rewrite New York's housing laws," said Whitney Hu, Director of Civic Engagement and Research for Churches United for Fair Housing, a member of the Tenants Not Tourists coalition.

The CSS report considers how Airbnb's proposed changes would especially threaten Black New Yorkers and lower-income tenants, who are more likely to live in the one- and two-unit buildings most vulnerable to short-term rental conversions under Airbnb's bills. According to the report, "The loss of one- and two-unit rentals to the short-term rental market will likely contribute to the exodus of Black New Yorkers out of the city," while low- and moderate-income New Yorkers are "less likely to be able to weather the economic shock of a forced move and are less likely to be able to afford a new apartment on the market."

The report also explains how Intros 948 and 1107 would hurt homeowners themselves by raising housing prices across the city. The report states, "Airbnb advertises itself as a solution for an overheated housing market, offering homeowners the chance to earn a little extra income. In reality, the company's business model raises housing prices, thus making the city less affordable for both present-day tenants and potential buyers." Read more here.

Background

Airbnb's proposed legislation would effectively dismantle Local Law 18, which the New York City Council voted to adopt in 2021 to better regulate the short-term rental market and crack down on predatory short-term rental platforms. Local Law 18 specifically requires short-term rental hosts to register with the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement (OSE), and prohibits booking service platforms like Airbnb from processing transactions for unregistered short-term rentals.

Despite Airbnb's baseless claims, the law has been a success and empowered the City to enforce existing housing laws. Since it went into effect, Local Law 18 has led to a dramatic decrease in short-term rental listings - many of which have since been filled again by long-term tenants.