Cease and desist letter

[Heather-And-Michael1]

Hello,  has anyone had to deal with this?

We purchased our lakehouse last year in eastern Tennessee.   It was advertised that is could be used as an airbnb vrbo etc.   At closing we did not receive any restrictions etc.

Our home is NOT in an HOA. But some neighbors are members of the voluntary property owners association.  They have no rules, regulations, by laws.  We do not pay them anything, and no contract.

It was brought to our attention last summer that our deed stated that I'm not allowed to conduct business thereon or therefrom as it is suppose to be a private fishing camp.

We filed a claim with our title insurance at that time and was contacted by an attorney a few times that told us not to stop our airbnb.

Fast foreward to this week, the voluntary hoa sent us a cease and desist letter stating to stop immediately.

[M199]

@Heather-And-Michael1 

No one on this site can provide legal advice. You need to contact a lawyer. There seems to be, at minimum, a growing aversion to STR'S in North America driven by angry/un- informed neighbours, municipalities, cities and townships.  Just my opinion from reading and hosting.

What legal rights does a "volunteer HOA" have to submit a cease and desist order versus your legal deed?

Good Luck!  Let us know the outcome.

[Lorna170]

@Heather-And-Michael1   A voluntary HOA has no legal standing and a cease and desist letter is of no consequence unless backed by a legal authority.  However, are you in violation of local zoning rules as to use or capacity?  For example, do you advertise for more persons than zoning permits for occupancy?  Many people add couches, blow up beds or bunks that exceed the local zoning for the number of persons a house can hold, I.e. 2 persons per bedroom, number of bathrooms or the number of persons a septic field is designed to service.  You also need to find the rules of your municipality as to “business” use and whether or not hotel aka Airbnb type accommodations are in violation of the zoning definition for your neighborhood.  The voluntary HOA may report you to the municipality for zoning violations in hopes that the authorities will get involved and shut you down.

One of our properties (no HOA, rural on 20 acres of private property) could easily accommodate 10 or more persons, but due to zoning and the licensed septic build could only legally be for 7 persons, so we had to adjust our advertising.  

Consult an attorney and do your due diligence on how your Airbnb use of your property meets or is possibly in violation of zoning laws and municipal code.  Best of luck!