It’s not ideal to rent vanlife in New York City.
Living in a converted van 25 years old on a New York City street is a popular way to leave your home. This doesn’t sound very appealing, especially since the van hasn’t been registered. It’s not one van, but seven vans, which were reportedly all listed as Airbnb rentals that offer authentic vanlife experiences.
This is the message from The NYC Sheriff’s office. They posted photos and gave a brief overview on the situation. A Twitter post stated that seven vans parked on Manhattan streets were “alleged fraudulently and illegally registered.” They were also stated to have been used as Airbnb rentals. However, it is not clear whether vans on streets are actually illegal for lodging rentals.
All vans were equipped with New Jersey license plates. The New York Post reported that some registrations had expired more than 20 years ago. This is clearly illegal.
The vans were apparently in use as Airbnb rentals for at most a few years. CBS New York reported that authorities were alerted by a YouTuber who paid $97 to rent a van for one night and wrote a review about the experience. According to the review, the Airbnb host had listed nearby bars and restaurants as places to go to the bathroom. However, he said that the experience was not something he would like to repeat.
Although these vans aren’t the most unusual overnight accommodations that we have seen, alleged illegal registrations and recommendations for private businesses to provide restroom breaks are most distinctly sketchy. Although it is not clear how many rentals these vans had before being impounded, the listings are no more on Airbnb’s website. Authorities are still looking into who the owners may be.