Legal & Compliance
Yes, CasaVoya
is legal in NYC.
Here's why.
NYC's Local Law 18 regulates booking services — platforms that collect a fee and process transactions for short-term rental listings. CasaVoya is built differently. We're an introduction service: we connect verified NYC hosts with travelers, and the host and guest handle the stay directly. No booking engine. No payment processing. No transaction fees on stays.
The structural difference
What CasaVoya doesn't do
Local Law 18 targets platforms that process reservations and collect fees on stays. CasaVoya does neither — by design.
No booking engine
We don't process your reservation. You contact the host directly — and the host confirms directly.
No payment processing
CasaVoya never touches the transaction. Payment lives entirely between the host and the guest.
No transaction fees on stays
We charge no cut of your nightly rate. No 14–18% OTA surcharge hidden in the checkout flow.
That's why we can operate — and keep prices affordable — in a city where tens of thousands of listings have been removed from traditional platforms.
How it works
An introduction service, not a booking platform
Step 01
We make the introduction
CasaVoya connects you — the traveler — with a verified NYC host whose listing matches what you're looking for. That's where our role ends.
Step 02
The host confirms the stay
The host and guest communicate directly. The host approves the stay. There's no CasaVoya checkout flow, no platform booking engine, no CasaVoya payment processor in the middle, and no middleman charging heavy fees and driving up the cost of your stay.
Step 03
The transaction stays between host and guest
Payment and all logistical details are handled directly between the two parties.
Common questions
Frequently asked
How is CasaVoya legal in NYC when Airbnb listings got pulled?
Local Law 18 prohibits booking platforms from processing transactions for unregistered rentals. Unlike Airbnb and VRBO, CasaVoya is not a booking platform. We introduce hosts and guests — we don't process the transaction.
What exactly is Local Law 18?
New York City's Local Law 18 (effective September 2023), among other things, prohibits "booking services" — platforms that collect fees and process transactions — from listing short-term rentals that are not registered with the city. CasaVoya is not a booking platform or booking service, as defined by the law, which allows us to surface listings that are unavailable on other platforms.
Are you sure that CasaVoya is legal?
Yes. Local Law 18 explicitly states that a website that markets properties available for short-term rentals, but that does not process bookings, is permitted by the law. We're not finding a clever loophole — the law explicitly says that this is legal.
What if I have more questions about the legal framework?
Our team is happy to walk through it. Send us a message and a real person (not a chatbot) will reply.
For hosts
List with CasaVoya because we're not Airbnb.
We don't take a cut of your bookings, we don't process payments, and we're not subject to the platform restrictions under Local Law 18. We send you qualified guests — you run your stay your way.
List Your HomeTrust & Safety
Built for the regulatory framework by design
CasaVoya operates within NYC's regulatory framework — not despite it. Local Law 18 targets booking services that collect fees and process reservations. We do neither.
Our role is the introduction: verified hosts, vetted guests, direct contact. The transaction lives between the host and the guest. This saves guests money and allows us to surface listings unavailable on other platforms.
Hosts are still responsible for their own compliance with applicable city, state, and federal laws. CasaVoya does not verify this compliance.
"We took a different approach. Instead of fighting the rules, we built a model that works within them — a trusted introduction service that connects guests with vetted local hosts. Compliant. Transparent. And dramatically cheaper for travelers."
Find your home in New York
Hundreds of vetted homes. No booking fees. Direct from the host.