transient use definition

Is there a standard/accepted definition of transient/hotel usage which is prohibited by our CC&Rs. A Homeowner wants to rent a house on a weekly and/or monthly basis for vacationers, who presumably would be able to use our community facilities like any member. thoughts? anybody dealt w/ this issue?

Welcome to the Forum!

Our CC&Rs aren't any more specific than yours, Phil, just that our 200+ condo units can't be used for transient/hotel purposes. No definition.

Two years ago some owners thought that too many were being rented out on a very short-term. And a couple of units were runnings ads as vacation rentals with the rate per night, weekend, week. I reviewed our municipal codes and found no definition of "transient," so we--the Board--sought a written opinion from our HOA attorney.

He cited some restrictions in some other nearby municipalities and I think one example of case law and wrote that the minimum time we should restrict to was 7 days. Most members of the board were very disappointed, our PM said that other HOA high-rises in our area that she'd managed put the restriction at 30 days. Our developer, who's still on our board though we're owner controlled, said the other local boards also argued for 30 days.

So the board voted for 30 days. Here in CA we did as required and sent the proposed rule out for a 30-day comment period. We rec'd about 12 comments split among those who wanted shorter time limits and those who wanted longer, e.g., 3 months. A majority of the board voted for the 30-day limit.

My estimate is that we had 4-6 short term rentals and at least one is still quite active by claiming they have a one-year lease with someone from another area, and the lessee's family and friends stay here too. Most of us here have a lot of guests who vist because we're located near a lot of attractions. It'd be very difficult to discern who's a short-term renter & who's a weekend guest.

Related to another post about the "psychological effects of serving on a board": one involves, I guess, social psychology or small group dynamics. Two-3 owners got some directors very exercised about the "problem" of short term rentals. Honestly, it almost was hysteria--I mean it!

So, at the end of my long story, Phil, you need to check your state laws--AZ may place limits on HOAs concerning rental limitations. If there's nothing, see if your city/county defines "transient purposes." If it does not, you may need your HOA attorney's advice

In courts, if a word is not defined in the law/contract, then the court will use the standard definition of said word, either in a common dictionary (the OED, for example) or will use their own "common sense" definition.

So, the dictionary definition for transient is "short time, fleeting, of a limited duration". You can either then dive into defining "short" and "fleeting", or you can simply draw a line in the sand that you believe you can defend, that a judge would agree with, and say it.

We believe that home ownership for less than 30 days is "fleeting" and a "short time". Given the average length of home ownership/remaining in a home in the US is XXX years, remaining in a home in our HOA for less than X months will be considered "of a limited duration" and "fleeting".

Laura

Our Covenants say one cannot rent their unit during first year of ownership. We have at least two where they were bought and a family member, not the buyer, moved in. Father bought, daughter moved in. Daughter bought, father moved in.

We have not questioned the situations and we do not intend to do so. Rentals are few here and we have no FHA financing issues so why stir the pot. All are happy and they both pay their dues on time.

What do your governing docs, probably your CC&Rs, say about rental limitations, Rob?

Out of curiosity, how many units are in your HOA and appx. what % is rentals? Are you attached or detached homes?

I do not think it's a good idea to craft policy based on the dictionary definition of "transient." And using the average length of home ownership doesn't seem to make sense when we're talking about rentals. Our HOA attorney's written opinion to us also certainly took into account how a court might rule in our region of CA.

Since you're in CA, you definitely want to check davis-stirling.com regarding rental limitations. New legislation went into effect on 1/1/12 that may affect your HOA.