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AG Schneiderman: Most NYC Airbnb Listings Violate The Law

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New York state's attorney general says nearly three-quarters of the New York City listings offered by the short-term rental service Airbnb violate city or state laws.

The report released Thursday by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman also charges that many of the listings are placed by commercial operators running illegal hotels, not by New Yorkers renting out a spare room.

Schneiderman announced the formation of a joint city-state enforcement unit that will investigate and shut down illegal hotels in the five boroughs.

WEB EXTRA: Read The Report (pdf)

"This report raises serious concerns about the proliferation of illegal hotels and the impact of Airbnb and sites like it on the City of New York," said Schneiderman. "We must ensure that, as online marketplaces revolutionize the way we live, laws designed to promote safety and quality-of-life are not forsaken under the pretext of innovation. The joint city and state enforcement initiative is aimed at aggressively tackling this growing problem, protecting the safety of tourists and safeguarding the quality-of-life of neighborhood residents."

Airbnb said in a statement that it has helped "countless'' families pay their bills and stay in their homes.

The company said it would join officials in working on rules to stop "bad actors.''

Airbnb said it has already removed more than 2,000 of the New York listings that violated state or city laws.

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