The 2026 FIFA World Cup is happening right here, on July 19 at MetLife Stadium, ten miles from Midtown Manhattan. For the next two months, this city is hosting the most-watched sporting event on the planet, and millions of international visitors are looking for somewhere to stay. If you own or rent a New York City apartment, you may be wondering: can I capitalize on this? The answer is yes, but only if you know exactly what the law allows, and what it doesn’t. Get it wrong, and the consequences range from steep fines to eviction.
The World Cup Opportunity and the Legal Reality
MetLife Stadium will host a record eight matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup the most of any venue in the tournament including five group-stage games, one Round of 32, one Round of 16, and the Final on July 19. The match schedule runs from June 13 through July 19, meaning demand for accommodations in the New York metro area is elevated for nearly six continuous weeks.
The pressure on housing is already showing. The average nightly hotel rate in NYC hit $320, a 5.4% year-over-year increase, with a peak record-high ADR of $524 in September 2024. During peak World Cup weeks, expect those numbers to go higher. International fans are actively searching for alternatives and many will land on subletting platforms or private listings.
That creates real opportunity. But New York City has some of the most restrictive short-term rental laws in the United States, and ignoring them during a high-profile event is one of the fastest ways to find yourself in serious legal trouble.
What Changed: Local Law 18 and the New Baseline
Before anything else, every NYC property owner and tenant needs to understand Local Law 18, passed in January 2022 and enforced since September 5, 2023. The law requires short-term rental hosts to register with the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement (OSE), and prohibits booking platforms such as Airbnb, VRBO, and Booking.com from processing transactions for unregistered short-term rentals.
In addition, building owners and condo/coop boards can include their building(s) on NYC’s “prohibited building list” and furhter restrict those platforms from processing transactions for entire buildings on that list. Building owners and condo/coop boards can also impose fines for violations and refer violations to the NYC OSE.
The impact has been dramatic. The law has been successful in significantly reducing Airbnb listings, with a decline of over 90% in short-term rental availability between the time of enactment and early 2025. The enforcement mechanism is embedded directly into the booking platforms, if you’re not registered with OSE, you simply cannot list.
The Core Rules Under Local Law 18
Hosts must register their property with OSE for a non-refundable $145 fee, providing proof of residency, lease or ownership documents, and other details. Platforms like Airbnb are prohibited from processing bookings for unregistered listings. Short-term rentals are allowed only in the host’s primary residence, and the host must be physically present during the guest’s stay. No more than two paying guests are permitted, regardless of the property’s size, and all occupants must have access to the entire unit with no locked internal doors.
Read that again: you must be physically present while your guest is staying. You cannot list your apartment while you go to the match. You cannot rent out your spare room and then fly to Brazil. The “host-present” requirement is not a guideline it is the law, and platforms and operators can face fines up to $5,000 per violation.
The only clean way to monetize your apartment short-term during the World Cup without being present is to rent it for 30 days or more, at which point it falls outside the short-term rental definition entirely and is governed by standard lease law instead. Make sure to check your lease, and your condo/coop’s rules, to ensure that subletting and short-term leasing is allowed.
Tenants: Can You Sublet During the World Cup?
For renters, the path to subletting is governed by New York Real Property Law §226-b, a separate legal framework from Local Law 18 that applies to traditional subletting (not platform-based short-term rentals).
In New York City, tenants in privately-owned buildings of four or more units have the right to request to sublet by law, even if the lease forbids it, as such lease provisions restricting the right are null and void as a matter of public policy. This is a meaningful protection, but it comes with a defined process that must be followed precisely.
The Required Steps for Tenants
You must send a written request to your landlord via certified mail, return receipt requested. Your landlord has 30 days to respond to your request. They can either consent, request additional information, or deny it. If they fail to respond within 30 days, their consent is considered granted by default. A landlord cannot “unreasonably withhold” consent, valid reasons for denial include a subtenant’s poor credit history, insufficient income, or a history of eviction proceedings.
The notification must include: the proposed term of the sublet, the subtenant’s name and address, your reason for subletting, your address during the sublet, written consent from any co-tenant or guarantor, and a copy of the proposed sublease.
The law limits your sublet to two years, including the term of the proposed sublease, out of the four-year period preceding the termination date of the proposed sublease. For a World Cup sublet, you’re likely looking at one or two months, well within that limit.
The Critical Caveat: Short-Term Sublets Are Still Illegal
Here’s where many tenants stumble. Even if you follow the §226-b process perfectly, subletting your entire apartment to a World Cup visitor for less than 30 days remains illegal under the Multiple Dwelling Law, regardless of whether your landlord consents. Rent cannot be charged to individuals who stay in an apartment for less than thirty days. This is an illegal practice that may be punishable by fines and sanctions by the City of New York to the landlord, which may then be passed on to the tenant.
The legal path for tenants who want to earn income during the World Cup without leaving for a full month is to rent a room, not the entire unit, while remaining in residence, which brings it under Local Law 18’s hosted-stay framework. Remember to check your lease, the condo/coop’s rules, and the OSE prohibited building list before doing so.
Owners in Co-ops and Condos: Additional Layers of Approval
If you own a co-op or condo unit, the rules above still apply, but your building adds another layer of requirements on top.
Co-op owners face the most restrictions. Co-op shareholders must comply with building-specific policies established by their board of directors. The cooperative corporation maintains authority to approve or deny sublet applications, set fees, and impose residency requirements. Most co-ops have a period of required owner-occupancy before you are allowed to sublet, often ranging from one to three years. It is very common for co-ops to cap the total time you can sublet, for example, a maximum of two years out of every five. Co-op boards almost always charge a sublet fee or surcharge on your monthly maintenance, which can be a flat fee or a percentage of 20–30% of the monthly maintenance.
Condo owners have considerably more flexibility. Condo owners generally have more flexibility when renting out their units compared to co-op owners. While condo boards cannot outright prevent owners from renting their units, they may have guidelines on lease duration and tenant screening procedures.
The bottom line for both: read your proprietary lease or condo bylaws before you do anything. A World Cup sublet denied by your co-op board, or processed without board approval, can result in financial penalties, litigation, or in serious cases, termination of your proprietary lease. The upside of a few weeks of rental income is never worth that risk.
The “30-Day Rule”: Your Most Important Number
Throughout all of these frameworks, a single threshold recurs: 30 days. It appears in:
- Local Law 18 — short-term rentals requiring registration and host presence are defined as stays under 30 consecutive days
- New York’s Multiple Dwelling Law — renting an entire Class A apartment for under 30 days is illegal unless the host is present
- Subletting law — stays under 30 days cannot legally carry a rent charge
- New York State’s 2025 registry law — the statewide reporting framework applies to sub-30-day stays
If your goal is to fully sublet your apartment, without being present, during the World Cup, the minimum legal stay is 30 days. For an entire-unit rental starting at or after the June 13 opener, that means a term ending no earlier than mid-July. The Final is July 19, which lines up cleanly with a June 15–July 15 or June 20–July 20 sublet.
Guest Policies: When Does a Visitor Become a Violation?
Even if you’re not charging anyone, long-term guests during the World Cup can trigger lease violations. Most NYC residential leases permit short-term guests, typically defined as stays of up to 30 days, without landlord notification. Beyond that window, a guest may be considered an unauthorized occupant, potentially violating your lease.
If you’re hosting family or friends from abroad for several weeks during the tournament, a good rule of thumb is to notify your landlord in writing if the stay exceeds two weeks, especially in rent-stabilized buildings where occupancy rules are strictly monitored. This protects both you and your guest from any disputes.
Quick Reference: Legal Scenarios at a Glance
| Situation | Legal? | Key Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Renting a spare room for <30 days while you’re home | Yes (with registration) | OSE registration under Local Law 18; max 2 guests; no locked internal doors |
| Renting your entire apartment for <30 days while away | No | Illegal under Multiple Dwelling Law |
| Subletting entire unit for 30+ days to one tenant | Yes (in most cases) | Landlord consent via certified mail under RPL §226-b |
| Co-op owner subletting unit | Yes (if board approves) | Board approval + sublet fees; check residency requirements |
| Condo owner subletting unit | Generally yes | Review bylaws; board may have screening requirements |
| Hosting non-paying guests for 2–4 weeks | Generally yes | Notify landlord in writing for stays exceeding 2 weeks |
| Listing on Airbnb without OSE registration | No | Platforms will block listing; fines up to $5,000 per violation |
What Happens If You Ignore These Rules?
Enforcement during a high-profile global event will be heightened, not relaxed. The city uses data from booking platforms, complaints from neighbors, and OSE inspections to identify illegal rentals. Penalties for operating an illegal Airbnb can include fines ranging from several hundred to several thousand dollars. Additionally, tenants who sublet their apartments illegally may face eviction proceedings.
For co-op owners, violations can lead to fines, litigation, or even termination of proprietary leases.
For rent-stabilized tenants, the consequences are especially serious. An unauthorized sublet, particularly one where you’re not maintaining primary residency, can result in loss of your lease entirely. The subtenant, left without legal protections, may also file a complaint with the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), adding a second front of legal exposure.
How to Do This Right: A Practical Checklist
Before listing or subletting your NYC apartment during the World Cup, work through the following:
- Tenants: Read your lease. Check whether subletting is addressed and what restrictions apply.
- All hosts: Determine if you’ll be present. If not, stays must be 30+ days.
- Short-term hosted stays: Register with OSE at nyc.gov/ose before listing on any platform.
- Co-op owners: Review your proprietary lease and building bylaws; submit a sublet application to your board well in advance (review can take 30–60 days).
- Condo owners: Check your building’s bylaws for minimum lease terms and screening requirements.
- All owners and tenants: Document everything — certify your sublet request, keep copies of all correspondence, and use a written sublease agreement.
- Consult a professional: For complex situations — rent-stabilized units, co-ops, or sublets longer than one month — a brief consultation with a NYC real estate attorney is worth the cost.
Make the Most of the World Cup Moment
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for New York City, and for property owners and tenants who understand the rules, it represents genuine financial potential. A legal, 30-day sublet in a well-located Manhattan or Brooklyn apartment can generate meaningful income. A hosted room rental during match weeks can supplement your rent. But doing it wrong carries consequences that outlast the tournament by years.
At DOME Property Management, we’ve been helping New York City property owners navigate exactly these kinds of situations since 1987. Whether you have questions about your subletting rights, need help screening a short-term tenant, or want a professional management partner during a high-demand event period, our team is here, and so is Ask The Dewitts, our AI Chatbot available 24/7 to answer your property questions.
Visit DOMEgroup.com or reach out at properties@DOMEproperty.com to get started.
Just Dewitt. DOME Property Management — New York City property management since 1987.