There has been a lot said about AirBnB these days. It's been called a disruptive technology (a compliment in the technology world) as a result of its leveraging the international sharing culture in real estate, by Gigaom, Fastcompany, and Techcrunch, among others. Yet, it has also been labeled as an illegal hotel site, which doesn't sufficiently warn its customers that their participation may be illegal as a violation of local transient laws. The latter appears to be the sentiments of New York State, as evidenced by the recent subpoena issued by the state's attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, seeking data on AirBnB's hosts. In response, AirBnB seems to be crafting a public relations campaign defending its business model by proposing that legislation be introduced at the state level requiring its users to pay taxes incident to their rentals. 

We are continuously receiving questions if a Team needs to create a new entity under the Advertising Regulations, at 19 NYCRR 175.25, for Real Estate Brokerages, which are effective January 2, 2014.

No, a team can continue to own an old entity that does not comply with the regulations for names so long as the team does not promote or solicit related to licensed real estate activity under that name.

So, the brokers ask us - wouldn't we always promote or solicit under our name.

Well, you can simply file a Certificate of Assumed Name with New York State that does comply, operate under that Assumed Name, but continue the entity structure that has the non-complying name, which is a much less expensive and time consuming solution than establishing a new entity.

To accomplish this Assumed name, read the Instructions for Completing the Certificate of Assumed Name first, then, fill out the form, pay the appropriate fee and file.

However, the form does state: "All documents should be prepared under the guidance of
an attorney". So, if you need help, hire an attorney.

Best of luck.