HOA's --Please take the time to read--Need Help!

[Michele1437]

Hello Everyone, 

We are about to begin our battle with our HOA and short term rentals.  The condo we have as an AirBnB we started in late January of this year and has been quite successful.  It was a former rental that my mom stayed in and we moved her into our home because she is elderly.  With COVID and rent moratoriums in place in Nevada, we didn't want someone squatting and getting a free ride.  We are just trying to survive as well.  We have some pretty awesome neighbors in the our building and the one's next to our building...all aware of our Air B n B and loved the tours I gave them when I didn't have a guest.  Unfortunately, the owner of the unit across from mine (her tenant got flooded out from a water heater break from the owner above), got a little pissy when she found out I have an Air B n B and couldn't host her tenant.  She blurted out...well you can't have an Air B n B here, it's against the rules!  A week later I was getting a letter from our HOA.  Our Condominium Declaration dated from 1978 says you cannot lease "his" (can be taken as discrimination) unit for transient or hotel purposes.  I have never considered an Air B n B as a hotel.  A revised edition or our R & R's from May 2017 just states in 2 paragraphs:  1.) Home Base Businesses where clients , customer and/or employees/contractors visit the unit is strictly prohibited. Examples, but not all inclusive, would be child day care, cosmetic sales where customers visit the unit and landscape contractors where employees visit.    2.) This regulation does not include those who work from home whether occasionally or routine.  Examples could be an officer person who telecommutes or a salesperson who communicates with customers on the phone. 

The letter they sent me said the exact same thing as # 1 and #2, but then they added to the end of the sentence on #2.. "Includes Air BNB short term rentals."   There is new new R & R sent to me.  They want to enforce a NO Air B n B, but not enforce any other violations happening in the community.   I responded to them that I feel as if they are targeting me. They cannot pick and choose what they enforce.   

Thoughts?   

[Michele1437]

**There has been NO new Rules and Regulations sent out.  There has been no update to the Declarations of 1978.

[Sarah977]

@Michele1437 "Our Condominium Declaration dated from 1978 says you cannot lease "his" (can be taken as discrimination) unit for transient or hotel purposes.  I have never considered an Air B n B as a hotel." 

It isn't a  hotel, but it is clearly transient  purposes and against the rules.

[Mark116]

@Michele1437 I think you're going to be out of luck, because 'transient' purposes would cover short term rentals.  You might be able to get away with doing Airbnb longer term, e.g. if you're renting to people on a monthly basis you could have them sign a lease, presuming that sublets are permitted, but that is also a long shot.  

[Brian2036]

@Michele1437 

I certainly sympathize, and I’m sorry to have to tell you:

I have recently done a lot of research on this general subject and the results did not make me happy, because we also own a condo that we rent to long term tenants.

1: The HOA can “pick and choose” who they want to harass. They are not law enforcement authorities and owners have no right to due process.

2. Courts have consistently ruled that an owner’s only recourse is to remove the Board of Directors and elect someone else who will do the job the way a majority wants it done.

3. Courts have remarked that if someone buys a condo that has incompetent or abusive management, they probably got what they paid for.

4. The Board can change the rules any time they like, without notice, and once again, it is up to the members to terminate them if they don’t like it. The Board can even refuse to honor contractual maintenance agreements on the grounds that they have insufficient funds.

5. If the Board members refuse to relinquish control despite a vote to remove them, it will be very expensive to get rid of them, and they can use HOA funds to defend themselves against lawsuits.

CONCLUSION: NEVER buy a condo, an HOA controlled townhouse, or anything in a managed development.

 I knew that but I bought one anyway, and it looks like I got what I paid for, which is a big fat pain in the hump.

[Sarah977]

Regardless of whether one agrees that the rules are fair, listing an Airbnb without bothering to read the rules of an HOA or one's rental lease and then acting outraged when told they can't have an Airbnb there, isn't any different from guests failing to read the terms of the camcellation policy, then being outraged when they cancel and don't receive a full refund.

The "Please take the time to read" topic wording is rather ironic.

[Michele1437]

First of all, I’m not outraged.  Where you came up with that I don’t know. 2nd of all the rules were read a long time ago and yes I misunderstood their term “transient”.  A hotel is zoned as commercial. This zoning is for multi family.  If they are only trying to enforce rules against me and not enforce rules amongst other residents with violations, then that is discrimination.  

[Kia272]

@Michele1437  Condos and HOAs have rules because they are shared communities. I own a condo and I understand clearly that an AirBnB or similar STR is not allowed. 

Most of the rules in these communities are for the protection of the owners/residents, and also for protecting property values. Many condos have a limit on how many units, if any, can do even long term rentals. Why? Because owner-occupied units are better maintained, and owners are more invested in the property when they live there. Another reason for that limit is that buyers frequently can't get a HUD loan if the condo community has over a certain percentage of leased units. Lenders also know that owner-occupied units make for a better community overall, and property values are directly linked to that. 

As we all know, AirBnB does little to nothing to vet guests. You have no idea who is coming to your property, and what their history is. You are putting your community and neighbors at risk by having an AirBnB in your unit. It's not just your decision because you live in a shared community. 

Imagine if your neighbors were violating other condo rules and regulations. You'd likely be the first to complain if those violations were affecting you and your unit in some way. 

Yes, dealing with condo and HOA boards can be a huge PITA, but when you buy in these communities you are subject to their rules. 

I'm afraid you are on the losing end of this argument. 

My AirBnB is on a private property in a different state, but if somebody at my condo tried to start an AirBnB in their unit, I'd be all over that. 

[Diana2481]

We have new board members for our HOA that used to rent units out and then sold them.  The board first wanted to charge owners $100 per rental.   But that idea went away.   Not sure what happened there.  Legal implications with being a non-profit perhaps.   The board member are property owners and they harass guests all the time asking who they are & where they are staying, as well as say mean things and yell at them for things that are none of their business.  They have been trying to force ID tags on vehicles stating which unit the car belongs to, but we were able to stop that due to safety issues.  They are asking for all renter (short or long term) to return a signed  copy of HOA rules prior to renting, and now are saying they are hiring a rental agent that will determine rental rates, dates of rental, approve who can/cannot  rent, and that the agent will collect  35-40%  of the payout that will go to the HOA.   The bylaws stated when we bought the property years ago, that short term rental was allowed and owner were responsible for those being rented to.   There was no rental agent/company managing any rentals.  
This is another one of their bullying tactics and are trying to make a profit from it.   It is causing good people a lot of stress and are listing their property for sale.   Can they do this?  

[Pete28]

If nothing else, consider the liability issues for the condo as a whole - I doubt they are insured or want to insure for liability if Airbnb guests get injured etc, or cause property damage. It can be difficult to get such coverage even if the property is single family, and also expensive.