AIRBNB in our HOA

Started by DennisG7 • 14 replies • 772 views

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DennisG7 (Georgia)
Posts: 155

Posted:

This probably has been addressed but I didn't spot it. I've been advised that we have at least one home that is renting out their downstairs, finished basement (in-law suite) for AIRBNB use.

Our CC&R's were created before the AIRBNB craze hit.

We do have a section in the CC&R dealing with leases. It says that no property shall be leased for a period of less than 6 months. The property in question is advertising nightly and weekly rates. Several HOA members have brought this to the BOD's attention in the past week or so.

Seems to me the best thing to do is to send the homeowner a nice letter telling them they are in violation of our CC&R and to remove the homes listing on AIRBNB or is it best to have our attorney do it?

Any thoughts or recommendations?
Dennis G7

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

Dennis

Start with a letter saying like we, the BOD, believe you are in violation of sos and so Covenant. Do not threaten in any way. Await their reply. If they ignore or disagree with you, have your attorney write the next letter.

AugustinD
Posts: 5,144

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By DennisG7 on 01/25/2020 12:38 PM
We do have a section in the CC&R dealing with leases. It says that no property shall be leased for a period of less than 6 months.

Thank goodness for the above. Else John's advice sounds good.

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

Write violation letter called them to a hearing and possible fine for breaking the 6/mo min. lease covenant. No new need for an attorney, I don't think

Our urban neighborhood is very popular with tourists and all high rises including us have heavy fines for short-term rentals. We moved ours from $500 per infraction to $1,000 a couple of years ago. Our n minimum is 30 days.

Is your board able to vote to increase the fine on your fine schedule? The fine needs to be more than what the owner collects for a couple of days rent.

PaulM30 (B)
Posts: 41

Posted:

I would have absolutely zero tolerance for this. Send the letter just advising them that they need to stop, and if they don't, pursue it aggressively. Our HOA is pretty relaxed, I don't understand how people live in those HOAs where you can't leave your car on the street or your mailbox needs to be painted a particular color etc, so in general I usually adopt a fairly live and let live attitude, but short term rentals are one of the few rules that as a board we're not willing to discuss at all and will immediately move to fine violators. The fact that it's part of their home, so I assume they'll be there too, makes it slightly less severe, but it's a slippery slope. Do not tolerate it.

MarkW18
Posts: 1,290

Posted:

Under no circumstance can an AIRBNB rental be connected as a lease.

GeorgeS21 (Florida)
Posts: 3,808

Posted:

So, Paul, your Board only enforces some of your restrictions?

Are you on the Board?

MarkM19 (Texas)
Posts: 1,459

Posted:

Dennis,
If the above options do not work and they possibly won't. Be prepared to get the HOA Lawyer to send a Cease and Desist letter. It worked in the 2 cases we recently dealt with. We have 1 homeowner that was renting a very nice home with a awesome Pool and party area. They were getting $599.00 per night and it held up to 12 people at a time. Needless to say when you spend that much for a night you do not go to bed at 9pm. The parties were driving the neighbor crazy. The second Airbnb was just as bad because this person was renting a room by the night for $25.00 per night. You can expect the type clients this may draw. We had people that looked like they had their whole life in the cars they would park on the street.

The Lawyer letter forced the first HO to sell his party place and the second stopped renting the room. I am not a fan of lawyers but some times they get things done.

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By PaulM30 on 01/27/2020 8:56 AM
I would have absolutely zero tolerance for this. Send the letter just advising them that they need to stop, and if they don't, pursue it aggressively. Our HOA is pretty relaxed, I don't understand how people live in those HOAs where you can't leave your car on the street or your mailbox needs to be painted a particular color etc, so in general I usually adopt a fairly live and let live attitude, but short term rentals are one of the few rules that as a board we're not willing to discuss at all and will immediately move to fine violators. The fact that it's part of their home, so I assume they'll be there too, makes it slightly less severe, but it's a slippery slope. Do not tolerate it.

The trouble with taking a loosey-goosey approach to enforcing your covenants is that you're setting the stage for people to fight you legally when you finally decide that you can't live with whatever is bothering you.

In fact the board has a fiduciary duty to enforce your covenants and restrictions, and they can be sued for not doing their job.

I can understand people not wanting to live with "a bunch of stupid rules" - but the time to decide that is before you sign a stack of papers agreeing to abide by said rules. There are plenty of neighborhoods outside of HOAs where people can do as they please. Unfortunately one of the things that may please them is to be an Airbnb host.

MarkM19 (Texas)
Posts: 1,459

Posted:

Cathy,
That was a very well stated set of words that All board members should read and understand.

GeorgeS21 (Florida)
Posts: 3,808

Posted:

Again, Paul, are you on your board?

BenA2 (Texas)
Posts: 1,273

Posted:

I think it might be a little more complicated. Since your CC&Rs don't mention renting part of one's property, it's a little ambiguous. In some states, ambiguous restrictions aren't enforceable (I don't know about Georgia).

AirBNBs and similar APPs have been around long enough that there is probably some case law established in Georgia. I recommend talking to an attorney before taking any enforcement action, other than a letter.

BenA2 (Texas)
Posts: 1,273

Posted:

I mostly agree with you but there are circumstances where a board's fiduciary duty might mean not enforcing restrictions. For example, if the restrictions are vague and there is a possibility that the enforcement could be challenged, then the enforcement could risk costing the HOA a lot of money. So, part of being responsible to the membership is weighing the benefits and risks of enforcing any particular restriction.

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By BenA2 on 02/01/2020 8:49 PM
The trouble with taking a loosey-goosey approach to enforcing your covenants is that you're setting the stage for people to fight you legally when you finally decide that you can't live with whatever is bothering you.

In fact the board has a fiduciary duty to enforce your covenants and restrictions, and they can be sued for not doing their job.

I can understand people not wanting to live with "a bunch of stupid rules" - but the time to decide that is before you sign a stack of papers agreeing to abide by said rules. There are plenty of neighborhoods outside of HOAs where people can do as they please. Unfortunately one of the things that may please them is to be an Airbnb host.

Our original CC&Rs had a poorly worded parking restriction that made enforcement difficult. At our attorney's recommendation, we went through the process of amending the restriction. I agree that there may be some restrictions that are not worth fighting over (the "cosmetic" stuff vs. the "functional" stuff). But if a restriction is vague and deals with functional items, you're better off to be pro-active and either clean up the language in the restriction or eliminate it altogether - because if there is something that can be argued over, you can be assured that there will be arguments.

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By CathyA3 on 02/02/2020 6:20 AM

Boy, did the formatting ever get messed up on this one.

BenA2 said this:
I mostly agree with you but there are circumstances where a board's fiduciary duty might mean not enforcing restrictions. For example, if the restrictions are vague and there is a possibility that the enforcement could be challenged, then the enforcement could risk costing the HOA a lot of money. So, part of being responsible to the membership is weighing the benefits and risks of enforcing any particular restriction.

I replied this:
Our original CC&Rs had a poorly worded parking restriction that made enforcement difficult. At our attorney's recommendation, we went through the process of amending the restriction. I agree that there may be some restrictions that are not worth fighting over (the "cosmetic" stuff vs. the "functional" stuff). But if a restriction is vague and deals with functional items, you're better off to be pro-active and either clean up the language in the restriction or eliminate it altogether - because if there is something that can be argued over, you can be assured that there will be arguments.

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