New York has tussled with Airbnb Inc. for years over the proliferation of illegal listings and has spent significant resources chasing down violators. New rules that will begin to be enforced in July are designed to prevent properties like the one in Queens from hitting the market in the first place. Hosts who want to list on Airbnb or other platforms will be required to register with the city and receive an operating license. Companies won't be able to collect booking fees on unregistered properties, so it should help to alleviate pressure on the city to track down illegal listings. Units that have uncorrected fire-code violations or vacate orders will be ineligible for registration.