John Stossel‘s latest column documents another case of government standing in the way of free markets for no good reason.

My kids moved out! I have two empty rooms in my apartment. Maybe I can rent them? A tourist visiting New York City could have a different experience, and save hotel money. I’d make money. Wouldn’t it be great?

No, says the government of my state.

New York recently passed a law making it very difficult for people to offer short-term rentals via popular websites like Airbnb and Roomorama, which connect room-owners and room-renters. I could be fined $25,000 if I rent to tourists through those services.

New York State Sen. Liz Krueger defended the law.

“Tenants all over the city are begging their legislators for help. They were being harassed by strangers in the middle of night entering their building, moving into the apartments next door … violating the fire code, the safety code, and harassing people, sometimes very aggressively, out of the buildings”

Please. Of course some renters behave badly. But they can be dealt with by building owners. There’s no need for authoritarian governments to ban consenting adults from renting to each other.

Krueger says that despite these services’ rapid growth, their customers are unhappy — and that despite the online customer-satisfaction reviews and ratings that enable everyone to compare thousands of different offerings, and blacklist renters and homeowners who behave badly, customers are being duped.

“They think they’re signing up for a hotel room. They pay through a credit card. They walk into a situation that is not safe, not clean.”

This is how politicians think.

Jia En Teo, co-founder of Roomorama, has a different explanation for why businesses like hers are attacked by politicians: “Short-term rentals have been growing in popularity … that has posed competition to hotels.”