Adapting to Short-Term Rentals: What You Need to Know About Restrictions

Last month, our CUP touched on the fact that in the City of Miami Beach, illegal rentals might mean jail time. The problem, however, is not limited to beach front condominiums. Many single family home and townhome communities are facing similar issues. These homeowner associations, struggling with short term rental issues, want rental policies that impose minimum and maximum rental periods. Rental restrictions for a homeowners association are most commonly found in the declaration of covenants. If the documents are silent, then the board cannot impose a rental period restriction without a member vote to amend the declaration. If the documents provide some authority, then the ability to regulate rentals depends on the language. The problem is that most short term renters come and go before the board even know that the rental. And the short-term renters can be deceptive. For instance, many renters are coached to say they are a cousin of the owner or simply a guest (not a renter), thus permitting owners to get away with it for some time before the board picks up on the pattern. It is therefore recommended that if a homeowners association has rental restrictions (or is looking to add them), the board should discuss not just establishing minimum/maximum rental terms, but also other restrictions aimed at minimizing the ever popular trend of short-term rental income streams.