Find an apartment in New York City with NY Habitat

When planning your trip to New York City, one of the stages is to book accommodation. Of course, hotels are a good option, but I know that some of you look for the comfort of an apartment.
There are many sites like Airbnb or Homelidays. However, not all property advertisement is reliable and do not respect New York City laws. They are more conducive to last-minute cancellations, leaving one with no place to stay.
Anyway, my idea is to propose a trustworthy solution for renting an apartment in New York. My criteria are compliance with the law, quality, and price. New York Habitat corresponds to all of them, you’ll find out why in this post.

What is NY Habitat?

It is a New York real estate agency created in 1989 by Marie-Reine Jézéquel. At first, they proposed apartments in New York, but now they are in Paris, the South of France, and London.
In New York, their listing has around 200 short-term apartments (for vacations), 1500 furnished apartments for a medium or long stay, and 400 shared apartments.

I like NY Habitat because:
– its website is nice, practical, and easy to use,
– its accommodation offer is varied,
– it’s safe. Airbnb and similar sites suffer from a bad image due to the number of false advertisements or cancellations without notice from the owners. NY Habitat is different because each apartment is verified.

What are the advantages of NY Habitat compared to the others?

I will review the following criteria for NY Habitat, Airbnb, and Homelidays:
– Characteristics of the platform:
NYC Habitat is a real estate agency that manages hundreds of apartments, unlike Airbnb and Homelidays, which only propose a relationship between individuals. As well as any real estate agency, they know the properties presented in their catalog. Each apartment is verified, and most of them receive a visit from the NY Habitat team to make sure everything is in order (cleanliness, compliance with the law…).
As you know, Airbnb and other sites are not as strict and more prone to scams.
Point in favor of NY Habitat.

– Ergonomics of the website:
Airbnb is a forerunner in the matter. However, all vacation rentals websites look similar today.
Point in favor of the three.

– Short-term apartments offer:
Airbnb has a greater range of apartments. Homelidays stands halfway and NY Habitat proposes 10 times fewer apartments than Airbnb.
These figures must be mitigated because many ads do not have comments (or few); they are false and may hide scams. So it would be best to be very careful when looking for your accommodation in these places.
Yet, point in favor of Airbnb.

– Offer of furnished apartments (medium and long term):
NY Habitat proposes the largest number of medium and long-term apartments. Airbnb is just behind, followed by Homelidays.
Only NY Habitat proposes shared apartments.
Point in favor of NY Habitat.

– Diversity of options
Airbnb and Homelidays propose more options, but most are of little use. I don’t think you choose an apartment because they offer shampoo, a flat-screen tv, and wifi connection. I mean, all the apartments provide these services.
In the end, point in favor of the three.

– Rates:
Yes, NY Habitat is more expensive. Why? One of the main reasons is that their apartments must meet more rigorous requirements, such as respecting the law. I will give you more details below.

– Regulation for short-term rental:
The law adopted in 2010 prohibits the rental of apartments of less than 30 days in buildings with more than three residential units.
For the owner to respect the law, the building must have less than three dwellings. Plus, the owner must be present during the guests’ stay.
There lies the most significant difference between NY Habitat, Airbnb, and Homelidays since the first one reviews each apartment to ensure it complies with the law.
It should be noted that if you rent an apartment that does not respect the law, you will not have legal problems. But NYC City Council strives to combat this illegal business, and owners threatened by the authorities do not hesitate to cancel the rent at the last minute. It has already happened to me. The apartment I rented was closed, and I had to find a hotel for the same night (it was in December, and it was snowing). You can imagine the expense and sudden stress.
Point in favor of NY Habitat.

– Customer service before and during the stay:
This last criterion is quite important because you might need help when booking an apartment.
With NY Habitat, a person is available to guide you to choose an apartment that suits your tastes and budget, unlike the other sites for which you’re left alone.
Point in favor of NY Habitat.

In short:

How to book with NY Habitat?

It is very simple, just follow the steps on the website by clicking on the button below.

NY Habitat website

Conclusion

Airbnb and Homelidays are cheaper and offer more apartments. However, NY Habitat is safer because they verify compliance with the law and have an interlocutor if you need help.
Organizing a trip to New York can be stressful, and I do not like to add more with the possibility of falling into a scam.
I sincerely believe that NY Habitat is a good plan to find an apartment in NY.
Do not hesitate to share your experience with me!

Please note that this is not a sponsored article. I don’t write sponsored articles.