Two-thirds of NYC’s Airbnb rentals are illegal sublets

Letting an entire apartment in New York for less than a month is illegal. Many listings on AirBnB are for entire apartments (as opposed to rooms within them), and they will likely result in rentals which are for less than a month.

These points have been on the front page here many times. I don't think the data cited in the article would surprise anyone.

More importantly, they don't add to the debate over existing laws. I'm not sure that the <1 month rental law provides the right protection against the commonly cited problems. These issues surely warrant some action, but a law which penalises all visitors to a city (by reducing options and thus raising accommodation prices) seems excessive, given that bad actors are (presumably) a small minority.