News

Co-living companies, viewed as part of the answer to New York City’s affordability crisis, have come under great scrutiny by lawyers who state that some operators are flouting New York’s housing laws. For example, tenants at Bungalow have claimed that the company scammed them. Bungalow is a residential real estate platform that began as a spin on co-living and aimed at giving young white-collar workers access to rental spaces in expensive cities via densification and shared space. Some tenants assert that Bungalow terminated their leases early and ignored maintenance requests. On another occasion, Bungalow gave fifteen tenants 90 days to move out, even though they had a year left on their leases. However, there have been several recommendations suggested to address the issue. For instance, people have suggested that New York City should take a similar approach to what it has done with Airbnb. Under a recent New York Law, rental platforms like Airbnb must give information about short-term listings to the Mayor’s office, such as the identity of the host and banking information. Another suggested approach is the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement possibly expanding its mandate and taking legal action against the companies directly. Like the New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office stated, “The companies are now being monitored.” Mariam Hall, Co-living conditions drawing scrutiny from New York AG, BISNOW, https://www.bisnow.com/new-york/news/multifamily/ag-monitoring-coliving-companies-amid-residents-complaints-substandard-living-conditions-115420 (Sept. 14, 2022).