This issue is coming to a head in San Francisco where the City Attorney has brought action against two landlords for practices that amount to converting residential buildings into pricey tourist hotels after evicting long term tenants, two of them disabled. The units in these buildings are now being used as short term rentals. Short term rentals are typically leases for less than thirty days.
So, one may ask “what’s the big deal?” From the standpoint of a municipality, these landlords are likely not collecting and subsequently paying the city’s hotel tax.
From the standpoint of an owner in an HOA, the resident owner’s property interest may become overrun with tourists. The tourists may abuse and overuse the common area facilities. Over time, the common area may see significant impact requiring excessive expenditure from the general funds of the association or requiring premature use of reserve funds.
Furthermore, the resident owner may see his property value decline or not reach its full potential.
The governing documents of many associations prohibit short term rental activity, but how does one monitor such activity? Neighbors may keep a watchful eye and report suspected activity to the board or to the association’s community manager. To be more proactive, the board or community manager may be able to use the same online tools potential renters use to discover short term rental properties within their association. Websites such as Airbnb, VRBO and HomeAway are often used by short term lessors and lessees alike to both list and locate short term rentals.
If a listing is found within your HOA, and assuming the CC&Rs prohibit the rental, the association or the association’s agent can contact and request its legal representative draft a friendly reminder to the homeowner. If the friendly reminder does not suffice, alternate dispute resolution may be offered. One can also check their local ordinances and report any violations to the appropriate city entity.
SOURCE:
http://cahoalaw.com/are-short-term-rentals-plaguing-your-association/
From the standpoint of an owner in an HOA, the resident owner’s property interest may become overrun with tourists. The tourists may abuse and overuse the common area facilities. Over time, the common area may see significant impact requiring excessive expenditure from the general funds of the association or requiring premature use of reserve funds.
Furthermore, the resident owner may see his property value decline or not reach its full potential.
The governing documents of many associations prohibit short term rental activity, but how does one monitor such activity? Neighbors may keep a watchful eye and report suspected activity to the board or to the association’s community manager. To be more proactive, the board or community manager may be able to use the same online tools potential renters use to discover short term rental properties within their association. Websites such as Airbnb, VRBO and HomeAway are often used by short term lessors and lessees alike to both list and locate short term rentals.
If a listing is found within your HOA, and assuming the CC&Rs prohibit the rental, the association or the association’s agent can contact and request its legal representative draft a friendly reminder to the homeowner. If the friendly reminder does not suffice, alternate dispute resolution may be offered. One can also check their local ordinances and report any violations to the appropriate city entity.
