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I am not an attorney so I cannot tell you if there is a strict legal difference between a sublet and a short- term rental, but I suspect there is.
You need to check your co-op's proprietary lease and house rules before engaging in any sort of sub-tenancy, and you will almost always need board approval. These two documents are usually very specific on what you can and cannot do in terms of allowing non-shareholders to stay in your unit without at least one shareholder present at the same time.
A sub-tenancy of any duration does not include a transfer of ownership or ownership rights. Having a sub-tenant means you are given approval by your co-op board to have non-shareholders live in your apartment for a finite period of time without a shareholder present. Approval almost always involves a qualification process where the prospective tenant is interviewed and may include a background check. You as a shareholder are always responsible for the conduct of your tenant so make sure you know who you are sub-letting to.
The board can set any minimum and maximum durations they want. These limits are usually for a minimum of one month to a maximum of two to three years. NYC regulations prohibit sublets for less than 30 days. Anything shorter is viewed as the same as a hotel and subject to all of the hotel regulations and taxes. Mortgage banks frown on originating co-op purchase mortgages in buildings where more than 10% or so of the units are not owner-occupied.
The reason for tight board control on sublets is to insure the safety and security of the rest of the community. The board needs to be sure that any non-shareholders they grant access to will follow house rules and won't be a disturbance, do anything malicious, or worse. This is the reason for the interview and background check. AirBnB definitely does not qualify no matter how much the company insists that they qualify their clients.
You co-op's attorney can give you much better answers. What I wrote above is just from my experiences as a board member.
You're right, DM. I was considering only longer-term sub-tenancies of a month or more where the shareholder(s) vacated their unit. If the shareholder wants to live with a constant stream of new and unknown individuals, caveat emptor.
Another (albeit extreme) solution to one shareholder constantly allowing unfamiliar people in and out of the building and his/her apartment is for the rest of the shareholders to decide to terminate the offending shareholder's lease and then the board would move for eviction. This is an outgrowth of the Pullman decision. Again, this is an extreme response, but if enough shareholders feel threatened by the actions of one shareholder, it is a possibility.
The majority of shareholders would have to have a solid and valid basis to do that. If the roommates are respectable people there would be no such grounds. As for the other case there must be more to it. How old is that case? Did the tenant allow usage of the entire apartment? My attorney says you can have a roommate for 1 day or 30 days. You must allow access to the entire premise (kitchen, etc) and reside concurrently. In a standard coop, you are allowed a guest (or guests) for 29 day of each month in addition to roommate. Like a normal house in the suburb or anywhere. What of that? Bottom line: if you have nice guest who don't bother anyone or barf allover the laundryroom - why pester anyone? Get a life?
DM, you say that there's "no time limit with roommates" and you can have them "stay for 1 day or 30 days." This argument has been tried and has failed. See Peck v. Lodge, in which a rent-controlled tenant was ejected from her apartment for having a sequence of short-term "roommates" in a bed-and-breakfast arrangement. From the decision:
"Lodge insists that her "guests" were actually "roommates" such that she is protected by RPL 235-f ("the Roommate Law") ... However, this contention is unsupported by any credible evidence. A "roommate" is a long-term co-occupant of an apartment with the lease-holder, with whom s/he shares the entire living area."
See https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=8096866326674503664 - and I must note that I'm not a lawyer, but this case is a ready-made answer for anyone claiming that the Roommate Law protects their Airbnb arrangement.
First the original poster did not mention if he lived in a condo or coop or if his unit currently has rental restrictions or fees.
A roommate is allowed per NYS law. Now what is a roommate. Well first owner is present, only one kitchen and no locks on bedroom doors and shared bathrooms are usually signs of a roomate.
Also in a roomate situation costs are normally split 50/50. And roomates usually are not a daily thing.
A little far-fetched, but a serious question.
Let's say a coop's proprietary lease has very easy sub-let rules -- application and a right of first refusal. No other restrictions on sublets.
Lessee submits an application for a 3-day sublet over the memorial day weekend. And an application for a 7-day sublet over July 4th holiday. Another application for a 3-day sublet in August.
Must the Board treat these as sub-let applications? Or do these short-term rentals not count as sublets.
(Put aside for a moment whether a short-term tenant violates the MDL.)
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A wrinkle on this is the roommate law. You are allowed one person in your apartment (you must be residing there concurrently) and the landlord may not ask anything except for the persons name. Evidently, you can advertises for a roommate (aka offer the room) on airbnbn and have them stay for 1 day or 30 days. there are no time limit with roommates. There are no limits on the $ you can charge a roommate in a coop. The $ is between you and them. Obviously it is better, in general, to have one person a month rather then nightly transients.
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