Verifications

Starting September 5 2023, New York City began enforcing its rules which require all eligible short- term rental Hosts to be registered with the city, or have Class B status, to continue hosting short-term rental stays.

Under New York City law, the unhosted short-term rental (less than 30 days) of a permanent residential dwelling unit is prohibited.

I. Reporting Law (Local Law 64 of 2020)

The City adopted Local Law 64 of 2020, codified as § 26-2101 et seq. of the Administrative Code of the City of New York (N.Y.C. Admin. Code), and effective on January 3, 2021. The provisions of this statute require disclosure of information to the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement (“OSE”) about certain short-term rental (less than 30 consecutive days)transactions by booking services, including, but not limited to: the physical address of the short-term rental; the location online of the advertisement that resulted in the short-rental; information relating to the identity of the host, including contact information; and information related to the scope of the short-term rental transaction.

To comply with the new rules you must:

Register with the city

1. Learn about the registration process on the city’s website and apply if eligible under the new rules. ​​
2. Once you are registered with the City of New York, be sure to add your registration details to your listing(s) on Houfy.
3. Your listing address (what you have entered on your Houfy listing) must match exactly with what is on New York City’s list. If your address is not an exact match, you must contact us at info@houfy.com in order to update your listing address.

OR

Host long-term stays

1. Update your minimum night stay to 30 nights or more.
2. Ensure your calendar availability is up to date.

New York data-sharing requirements

The City of New York requires that home-sharing platforms share data about listings and you as a host.

Here is a list of the information Houfy might need to disclose to the City of New York:

1. Host & Co-Host(s) information:

• Name
• Physical address (street name, street number, apartment or unit number, borough or county, and zip code)
• Phone number
• Email
• Profile ID number
• Profile URL

2. Listing(s) information:

• Physical address (street name, street number, apartment or unit number, borough or county, and zip code)
• Listing's name
• Listing's ID number
• URL of listing
• Type (ex: entire place, private room etc.)
• Total number of nights booked per listing

Relevant information for Hosts

Taxes

New York City and New York State impose multiple taxes that may apply to transient occupancy or tourist use, subject to certain exemptions. Examples of taxes that could apply to your listing are:

• State and City sales tax
• City hotel room occupancy tax
• State and City nightly room fees

Information about state-administered taxes is available on the New York State’s Department of Taxation website.

Information about City-administered taxes is available on the City’s website.

At Houfy, we are committed to maintaining a secure and trustworthy platform for both hosts and travelers. As an advertising platform, Houfy does not collect fees or commissions on bookings. This requires Houfy to focus on ensuring the integrity and credibility of hosts listing on our platform.

The host verification fee is a 1 time host fee for unlimited listings.

The implementing of a host verification registration fee is crucial for several reasons:

Ensuring Platform Security: To safeguard our platform, it is essential for hosts to verify their identities. This confirms their status as legitimate owners or managers of their listed properties.

Demonstrating Commitment: The verification fee signifies a host's dedication to maintaining accurate and up-to-date listings. This includes reliable data, current calendars, and updated pricing.

Platform Development: The fee contributes to Houfy’s growth, allowing us to enhance marketing efforts and improve the services offered to both hosts and guests.

Verification Process:

The verification process involves:

1. Requesting government identification or other verifying documents from hosts, adhering to applicable laws.
2. Conducting checks through third-party databases to ascertain the credibility of hosts.
3. Implementing additional identity verification methods to increase the overall safety and reliability of Houfy.

Please Note: While Houfy actively engages in verifying listings and hosts to enhance platform integrity, it's important to understand that we do not assume liability for the accuracy or integrity of verified listings or hosts. Our verification process serves as an additional form of identification and credibility for hosts but is not an endorsement of any listing or host. Users are advised to exercise due diligence in their interactions on the platform.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. Together, we can grow Houfy into a more secure and reliable community for all.

1. Uploaded government issued ID
2. Uploaded utility bill from your property, Insurance statement or copy of the deed
3. Payment of a 1 time host verification fee

You can additionally add urls from:

• Add your Airbnb or VRBO url at Menu > Edit listing > Verifications - We do not show these links on your listing, they are ONLY used for verification purposes.
• Click here to find to find your Vrbo url.
• Click here to find your Airbnb url.
• Or: Add your homepage/Facebook/other link where we can match your name.

We do NOT accept links from other Online Travel Agencies for verification purposes..

If you believe you should have been verified, please e-mail us: info@Houfy.com with your listing number. We might need further information (Latest utility bill or other)

If you did not get verified please send us your latest utility bill to: info@houfy.com

We only accept the following marketplace site urls for verification purposes:

• Airbnb
• Expedia sites: Homeaway, VRBO and others.
• Booking.com
• Tripadvisor

Verification at any of the above marketplaces does NOT necessarily mean you will be verified on Houfy. In some cases we require additional proof of ownership.

Listings which are not completed are usually not verified. Please make sure you complete your listing before uploading a utility bill.

To speed up the process of verification, make sure you complete the following requirements:

• Completed Houfy listings (Overview, Base price, pictures and other relevent information)
• Airbnb/VRBO url provided (By import and or added at reviews or at pictures) or homepage url provided.
• Ical Connected - please review this article for help.
• Utility bill provided
• In some cases we will require a deed or insurance bill.