Kings County Permit Requirements Rules (2026) — What You Need to Know

Local Law 18 of 2022 fundamentally reshaped short-term rental activity in New York City, including Brooklyn, which had been one of the most active Airbnb markets in the country. The law requires every host renting for fewer than 30 consecutive days to register with the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement (OSE). Booking platforms — including Airbnb, VRBO, and Booking.com — are prohibited from processing transactions for unregistered listings and must verify registration through OSE's electronic verification system.

The registration conditions are strict. The host must be a natural person and the permanent occupant of the dwelling unit. The host must be physically present during the entire guest stay, maintaining a common household with guests — meaning all occupants must have access to all parts of the unit with no locked doors between host and guest areas. A maximum of two paying guests is permitted at any time. Rent-regulated apartments, NYCHA units, and units where the lease or building rules prohibit short-term rentals are ineligible for registration.

The impact on Brooklyn has been dramatic. Active short-term rental listings across NYC dropped from approximately 38,000 before enforcement to roughly 3,000 registered listings by mid-2025. OSE has denied over 4,300 applications for non-compliance, and more than 550 applications involved rent-regulated units that are categorically ineligible. OSE actively monitors platforms, has issued warning emails to approximately 500 registered hosts suspected of reverting to illegal activity, and has initiated a revocation program for non-compliant registrants.