Air BnB Use

No direct experience ... but ...

You're talking about an unauthorized commercial use in a residential setting. Your docs are about what's allowed in your residential community. I doubt that the county or city laws have any ability to override your restrictions against commercial use. In my community, our local township regs would actually support our rejection of airbnb.

We don't have a restriction on short-term rentals. We do have a restriction on commercial activity. IMO that should be enough to restrict non-residential use.

I've reviewed our Declaration (AGAIN ha ha - lost count of how many times I've read that thing!) and in order to change the official docs on this topic would take 100% ownership agreeing to do so. And ... that's after the Board puts it out to a Homeowner vote. Won't happen here.

Thanks, Richard - you're awesome! Didn't think to check Davis-Stirling! Argghh! I'm in vacation mode already. Ha ha.

Has anyone ever paid it?

Kerry ... what do you base the $1,000 fine on? That seems steep!

These fines ... wondered if they ever get paid before a unit sells and you've placed a line on it.

We went through something very similar. The Unit Owner had a Tenant with a 1 year lease. Our docs require a 6 month lease min. His Tenant was sub-letting one bedroom and the living room out to Grad Students. They would come and go on a monthly basis, and you never seen the same face twice, after 30 days. Our BOD also has the right to force eviction of Tenets.

Long story short, everyone was booted and the Unit Owner was told his next tenants, would be put under the thumb. I really don't agree with that, as far as the next lessor goes, but, as a Unit Owner who leases out, you really need to know what is going on with your property.

I really can not see or think of any law, that would prohibit your HOA, from enforcing your stance on this, "Revolving Door" issue, if it is worded into your Docs.

No room service. Harumph. What kind of dive are you running there. Next you'll tell me that you don't have a heliport on your roof. What's the world coming to.

Air BnB is too large a business with too much money. It is only a matter of time before there is a court case involving a prime client, the condos.

If cities can find a find to tap into this revenue stream, they will go against the condos or HOA's for that matter.

The court did not involve Air BnB.

Linda

Your topic was Air BnB. The court case, while dealing with short-term rentals, was not about Air BnB which is a $20 Billion business and booming. I don't think an association can afford to go up against with the possibility of losing. They could bankrupt an association.

I am not a fan of the company, but having worked in a HOA law firm, I understand reality in going up against someone like that.

We have limited parking. If we had many homeowners doing air bnb we would have some serious parking issues .

Could discourage by issuing parking tags and registering license plates.

While Linda does have Airbnb in her subject, it appears that her HOA's real topic is short-term rentals. And I hope you're reassured, Linda, that there's nothing out there at present to prevent your board form fining Owners who violate your CC&Rs on that topic.

Richard only is speculating that Airbnb itself maybe, might, etc., come after, for instance, my HOA because we fine violators of our 30-day minimum rule.

Good question about the size of our fine being questionable, Linda. A $250 fine is not a disincentive given how much rent can 't be had for a weekend in our HOA. We have a few other fines that are quite high. The point of fines is to deter conduct that violates the rules. A $1,000 can be such a deterrent here. If a weekend rental would fetch $300 in a different HOA, then that would be a reasonable fine.

Our rule, Kevin, specifically says that no rental can be for a term less than 30 days. This should deter a rental of a few days to a different individual every month or 12 times a year. I won't go into the problems caused by short term renters in a secure-access urban residential HOA, or any residential HOA. That's not the subject. If someone would like to start that subject, OK by me.

Our community has and is experiencing great difficulty with one owner who rents her unit out for weekend/short-term. We've (the board) brought her to a hearing (she didn't show)and started fining her for every verifiable short term guest. She pays the fines without question. She's making money and the maximum fine of $100 is not enough to deter the activity. She lives outside our community and as long as she makes enough to pay the mortgage and hoa assessments, she's whole and a few dollars ahead. She used to go thru airbnb to find people, but has since resorted to other methods to secure her guests. It's frustrating when owners contact the board and say "DO SOMETHING".

In the state of NC we do have a Vacation Rental Act that requires folks to keep an escrow account. We are hoping that we might gain some "teeth" by reporting her to the State of NC. I don't hold out much hope, tho. Our attorneys advised us to tell the neighbors to report any suspicious persons or activities to the police. Seems like a burden on law enforcement when we know what's going on and are using them to be our junk yard dog.

There has to be a way to make things so uncomfortable for this owner that she'll stop, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. When the bottom line is $$$$$ people will always find a way to circumvent the system.

Sharon, that's I fear is going to happen here. She will just snub us. Had a guest the other night despite the letter and email telling her to cease. Time to review the fine policy .

Sorry, doesn't work that way.

Any change to the Rules and Regulations MUST have a 30 day period in which the homeowners can comment and before the Board can vote. The schedule of fines also must be sent to homeowners annual basis.

I was looking through your state law concerning short term rentals . It seems that they may trump your docs, if I am reading it correctly. "The following definitions apply in this Chapter:

(1) Real estate broker. - A real estate broker as defined in G.S. 93A-2(a).

(2) Residential property. - An apartment, condominium, single-family home, townhouse, cottage, or other property that is devoted to residential use or occupancy by one or more persons for a definite or indefinite period.

(3) Vacation rental. - The rental of residential property for vacation, leisure, or recreation purposes for fewer than 90 days by a person who has a place of permanent residence to which he or she intends to return.

(4) Vacation rental agreement. - A written agreement between a landlord or his or her real estate broker and a tenant in which the tenant agrees to rent residential property belonging to the landlord for a vacation rental".

I guess it really does depend on what your docs say, concerning this issue, as well as any clause that states something to the effect of, "unless conflicting with state law", bla, bla, bla.

Yes, we have a fine policy. $25 first offense, then doubling for each offense thereafter. I'm not concerned as she is using her townhouse for commercial use and that is prohibited as well. She wants to get on the agenda to discuss out antiquated bylaws and declaration. So, she will get her 5 minutes.

Check with your city or county ordnances.. I know that the city of Las Vegas tackled what the city council calls "party houses" to aid residents both in and outside of an HOA.
The party house ordnance says that a house, apartment. condo or other residential type dwelling cannot be rented for any less that 30 days.
This ordnances exempts realtors or established businesses that find short term or temporary housing.

Clark county has not passed similar ordnance, AirBnb's are treated the same as a party houses because they do not meet the criteria for a licensed broker with a real estate license to rent out properties..
Good Luck, I hope this helps.

Haha, Richard. But it's true that in our CA city, we have no such statutes.

Linda, why not have your board vote to increase the fine dramatically for short term rentals that violate your CC&Rs??? It'll take a long time of doubling her $25 fine for fines to be a deterrent.

Yes, you need to send it out for 30-day owner comments, but, at least in our HOA, the vast majority of owners don't want short term rentals.

You also may have something in your docs that you can remove common area amities for those who refuse to correct violations. It's pretty effective if you have amenity worth withholding.

Linda, I'll try again: why hasn't your Board raised the fines on shorter term rentals.??????

No statutory limits. But your board needs to vote on a proposed rule change. Then you must send the proposed rule change to Owners for a 30-day comment period. If you have a way to send the opposed change via email as we do to most Owners, that is legal. For those who can't be reached via email, send US mail. If you have a property mgr., they'll know the wording for the rule change.

See Davis-stirling.com for more. If you have a property mgr.,

Meantime keep calling her to hearings and doubling the fine for each new violation.

I don't have time to look for the list of materials that can be sent to Owners via email if they've provided a signed Consent Form to your HOA. Basically it's almost everything except ballots. See (2) below. So, at davis-stirling.com the Rules Section should say the 30-day notice period & say the opposed change is sent by “individual delivery” or “individual notice.” Your PM should have a sample Consent Form.

I can save clerical time & $ for postage, envelopes, etc. especially for all the required materials that you send with your annual budget. And also the mailer of the annual audit.

Civil Code §4040. Providing Notice or Delivery to Individuals.
[Old: Civ. Code §1350.7]

(a) If a provision of this act requires that an association deliver a document by the document shall be delivered by one of the following methods:

(1) First-class mail, postage prepaid, registered or certified mail, express mail, or overnight delivery by an express service carrier. The document shall be addressed to the recipient at the address last shown on the books of the association.

(2) E-mail, facsimile, or other electronic means, if the recipient has consented, in writing, to that method of delivery. The consent may be revoked, in writing, by the recipient.

(b) Upon receipt of a request by a member, pursuant to Section 5260, identifying a secondary address for delivery of notices of the following types, the association shall deliver an additional copy of those notices to the secondary address identified in the request: [Old: Civ. Code §1365.1(c), §1367.1(k)

Awesome, thanks! Wish we had you on the Board!