Should HOAs Allow Short-Term Rentals?

South Florida is one of the globe’s hottest tourist destinations, with our miles of white sand, tropical weather, and world-class shopping and dining attracting travelers from all continents. While hotels and resorts abound, many tourists who prefer to stay in a home. Some prefer the convenience of living in a home, others prefer the space and ability to cook for themselves, while still others want to “live like a local.” Due to the growth of short-term homestay companies, such as Airbnb and VRBO, many homeowners are interested in listing their home on these types of online marketplaces to bring in additional revenue. As an HOA board member, should you allow this in your HOA? This is something that your HOA should carefully evaluate from all angles.

How close are your units to one another?

If units are close by, such as in a condo building, there is a greater potential for short stay guests to annoy other homeowners in the building due to their close proximity. For example, they could be loud in the hallways or the unit, or they may not clean up after themselves in the common areas. If the HOA is comprised of individual homes, loudness becomes less of an issue, although they still may host a loud party that will irritate the neighbors. If you decide to allow short term rentals, it will be important to set up rules that short-term renters and unit owners agree to abide by and an enforcement mechanism, such as fines or removal of the privilege of renting the unit if there are repeated violations.

How will unit owners vet renters for safety?

The board of directors for yoru HOA vet unit owners to ensure a safe environment for all homeowners in the community. It’s essential that short-term renters are vetted as well. Make sure to meet with your legal counsel when developing a vetting procedure to ensure that it does not inadvertently engage in property rental discrimination.

Popular Renting Guidelines

While some HOAs don’t allow unit owners to rent out their homes on a short-term basis, others allow it with certain stipulations, such as:

• Each unit can be rented for only a certain percent of the year or a maximum number of times per year
• Units must have a minimum rental period (e.g. cannot rent for less than three weeks at a time)
• Owners must live in their units for a specified period of time before they can start renting it out to others

Renting out homes and condos can be a great source of revenue for many homeowners, but it also creates complications for HOAs. CCM has experience managing properties that allow short-term rentals as well as those that don’t. To learn more about the pros and cons of allowing short-term rentals from a property management perspective, contact CCM. Whichever option you choose, if we manage your property, we will ensure that your homeowners and renters (if you allow them) have an outstanding experience in your community.

Consolidated Community Management (CCM) is a full-service property management company specializing in condominium and homeowner association management in Broward and southern Palm Beach Counties.  We are committed to working together with community Boards of Directors to develop management plans tailored to the unique requirements of each community and their residents.

CCM provides a quality of service that is unique to our industry and consistently delivers a distinct competitive advantage.  Our concentrated, extensive local presence and knowledge of community associations results in lasting partnerships and superior service.  We have built our industry reputation on employing the best in the business and assigning only a limited number of properties to each Property Manager Team.

Our team at Consolidated Community Management provides expert property management services at competitive prices.  Contact us today by calling (954) 718-9903 or clicking on ccmfla.com.