New York's Top Lawyer Is Getting His Hands On AirBNB's Records

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has scored a major victory in his quest to investigate AirBNB hosts who are breaking state law. Schneiderman and the roomsharing startup issued a joint statement Wednesday announcing they reached an agreement for AirBNB to hand over host records to the attorney general's office so he can attempt to identify users who are violating a 2010 New York law that prohibits renters from subletting entire apartments for less than 30 days at a time.

"Airbnb and the Office of the Attorney General have worked tirelessly over the past six months to come to an agreement that appropriately balances Attorney General Schneiderman's commitment to protecting New York's residents and tourists from illegal hotels with Airbnb's concerns about the privacy of thousands of other hosts. The arrangement we have reached today for compliance with the OAG subpoena strikes this balance," the statement said.

AirBNB had been fighting a subpoena issued by Schneiderman for host records.

View the full letter outlining the agreement below.