[yoshokatana]

I'm not a libertarian, so I can't speak on OP's argument, but in NYC the ability for renters to sublet their apartments is enshrined by law, and technically any contract that doesn't allow subletting is breaking said law (which, if I remember correctly (and IANAL), makes that clause of the contract void, but not the rest of the contract).

[mbreese]

Subletting is well regulated too... yes, renters have the right to sublet, but they also have a set of restrictions on the process. For example, you can't sublet for less than 30 days, which would make the entire thing unusable for AirBnB. And if the apartment is rent controlled, then you have another set of regulations.

[auctiontheory]

Ooh, my inner Scheme programmer likes nested parentheses in a post!

I believe NYC forbids short-term sublets - that's the big issue here. Plus the taxes, of course.