VOA慢速英語：因其非法房屋出租紐約對Airbnb進行處罰

Airbnb, a global home-sharing company, faces a fight to stay in New York City.

Airbnb，一家全球房屋租賃公司，在紐約面臨著一場斗爭。

A proposed law would punish people for renting out their homes fewer than 30 days. Airbnb promises to fight the proposed regulation. Airbnb asked its customers to sign a paper, orpetition, against the law.

一項法案規(guī)定將對那些將房屋出租少于30天的人們做出懲罰。Airbnb承諾對這一法規(guī)抗爭到底。它要求其客戶簽署一份文件或一份請愿書以反對該法規(guī)。

Supporters of Airbnb stand during a rally before a hearing called "Short Term Rentals: Stimulating the Economy or Destabilizing Neighborhoods?" at City Hall in New York, Jan. 20, 2015.

Airbnb is website for people advertise and look forshort-term rentals. For many, Airbnb is a cheap alternative to a hotel.

Airbnb為人們發(fā)布或?qū)ふ叶套夥课萏峁┚W(wǎng)站。對許多人而言，Airbnb是酒店的廉價替代品。

Hotel rooms in New York City average about $250 per night. International travelers often book short visits to New York on Airbnb. But New York state law prohibits people from renting out an entire home or apartment to someone for fewer than 30 days.

紐約的酒店客房平均每晚花費為250美元左右。國際游客通常在Airbnb網(wǎng)站上預定在紐約的短期住宿。但是紐約州法律禁止人們將整套房屋或公寓出租少于30天。

Owners andtenants may rent out part of their apartment or home. But they must stay on the property during the short-term stay.

房東和住戶可以出租部分自己的房屋。但在短租期間，他們必須在房子里居住。

Earlier this year, two New York City Council members proposed penalties for people who illegally rent their homes.

今年早些時候，兩名紐約市議會議員提出對非法出租自己房屋者進行處罰。

City law currently puts a first-time penalty of $1,000 on those who change their home into a short-term rental space. The proposal would raise the first-time penalty from $1,000 to $10,000, and the maximum penalty from $25,000 to $50,000.

目前，城市法律對那些把自己的住房變成短租房屋的人們，其首次處罰金為1000美元。該提案將首次罰金從1千美元提高到1萬美元，并且將最高罰金從2.5萬美元提高到5萬美元。

Chris Lehane is Airbnb's Global Head of Public Policy. He started the petition against the law, "The New York City Council could cause thousands of everyday New Yorkers to lose their homes or make it harder for them to get by," he said.

Chris Lehane是Airbnb公司全球公共政策負責人。他發(fā)動了反對該法案的請愿。他說，“紐約市議會可能會讓數(shù)千名紐約人失去住房，或者讓他們度日更加艱難。”

City Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal said the increased penalties were not meant to hurt people, "but at protecting the New York City housing stock." There is worry that using so many apartments short-term rentals drives up housing prices for everyone. Visit the website www.chinavoa.com to get more information!

市女議員海倫·羅森塔爾表示，加重處罰不是為了傷害人們，而是為了保護紐約市的住宅存量。有人擔心公寓短租會帶動房價上漲。

The councilwoman's spokesperson, Stephanie Buhle, said the goal is to protect low-income tenants. She gave the example of a low-income apartment building that listed 80 percent of its units as hotel rooms. Residents complained, and the city fined the owner only $800.

這位女議員的發(fā)言人斯蒂芬妮·布勒表示，其目標是為了保護低收入租戶。她例舉了一棟低收入公寓大樓，有80%的房間被列為酒店房間。居民怨聲載道，該市只對業(yè)主進行800美元的罰金。

"Our housing stock is really valuable, and [landlords] are using it for [their] own good," said Buhle, who added that the city suspects there to be more than 16,000 illegal hotels in NYC.

布勒說，“我們的存量住宅是非常珍貴的，而房東只為自己著想。”他還補充說，該市懷疑當?shù)赜谐^1.6萬家非法旅館。

Airbnb says nearly eight in 10 of its hosts are low to middle income. Many of them need additional income to remain in their homes or apartment.

Airbnb表示，該公司近80%的業(yè)主都是中低收入者。他們中的許多人需要額外收入來保住他們的住房或公寓。

According to the city council's website, the amendment is being considered by a council committee. It may or may not actually become a law.

根據(jù)市議會官網(wǎng)，該修正案正在等待委員會批準。尚未確定它是否被定為法規(guī)。

New York Cityis not the only city to propose laws against short-term home-sharing. San Francisco will vote on November 3 whether to limit short-term rentals to 75 days a year. The current limit is 90 days. The proposed law would require hosting sites like Airbnb to take down listings that violate the limit.

紐約市并非唯一擬定法規(guī)反對住房短租的城市。舊金山將在11月3日投票決定是否把短租限制在每年75天。目前是90天。擬定法規(guī)將要求像Airbnb之類的托管網(wǎng)站撤掉其違反該法規(guī)的住房信息。

In an agreement with the city of Chicago, Airbnb recently began collecting hotel tax in order to stay in business there.

在同芝加哥達成的協(xié)議中，為了繼續(xù)在該市經(jīng)營，Airbnb公司最近開始征收酒店稅。

Airbnb was created seven years ago and has grown very fast in the digital age. The company lists about 1.2 million rentals worldwide on its website, according to the Los Angeles Times. Cities across the country are trying to figure out how to best tax and manage this industry.

Airbnb公司創(chuàng)立于7年前，并且在數(shù)字化時代發(fā)展迅猛。根據(jù)洛杉磯時報報道，該公司在其網(wǎng)站上列出了全球120萬套租賃房屋信息。全國各地城市都在試圖找出如何更好征稅及經(jīng)營該行業(yè)的辦法。

I'm Adam Brock.

我是亞當·布洛克。

Michael Lamon wrote this story VOA News. Adam Brock adapted it for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor.

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Words in This Story

petition– n. a written document that people sign to show that they want a person or organization to do or change something

short-term rental – n. renting out a house or apartment for less than 30 days

tenant– n. a person, business, group, etc., that pays to use another person's property : someone who rents or leases a house, apartment, etc., from a landlord

penalty– n. punishment for breaking a rule or law

housing stock– n. the total number of housing units in an area

digital – n. using or characterized by computer technology

regulators – n. an official who works for the part of the government that controls a public activity (such as banking or insurance) by making and enforcing rules

amendment– n. a change in the words or meaning of a law or document (such as a constitution)