I'm very big on 'an ounce of prevention' strategies. In my condo building, the rules explicitly state that no short term rentals are allowed. However, there's currently a surplus of long-term rentals in my city and a shortage of suitable tenants. Most people who can afford it are buying condos, so I was really struggling to get it rented out.
I also had a problem with where the condo was situated: one of its exterior walls faces an empty lot which is currently being developed into another condo building, so getting long term tenants posed some difficulty: who wanted to rent a space next to a construction site? That's when I decided to turn it into an Air rental.
At the same time, I was hearing that other condo owners, in other buildings, were either being asked, by their condo boards, to stop doing short term rentals or, even worse, were being reported to municipal authorities and fined. It happened to a colleague of mine who occasionally rented out her condo while she spent weekends at her boyfriend's. The fine was substantial, around $10,000 (Cdn dollars).
So I acted proactively and took the initiative to buy window boxes for a couple of communal balconies and planters for some other spaces. It cost me a few hundred dollars, but I was making a good income from my Air rental and it really prettified the building. In the end, the response on our building's Facebook page was really positive. People loved the flowers and since I love gardening, it wasn't a chore.
So when one disgruntled neighbour of mine posted the link to my Air rental on the FB page, with a long rant about how I was breaking the condo association's rules, apart from one other grumpy resident who agreed with him, I was overwhelmingly supported by everyone else in the building. I'm not sure what prompted this one neighbour's actions--ie to post the link along with the rant--but it was clear it was intended to out me/shame me and get me to stop. That was about a year ago.
It was a stressful time, but seeing everyone else support me was great and in the last few weeks, this neighbour has actually reached out to me and been very nice. Even though his actions were really upsetting, I recognize the value of getting along with him, so I was pleasant in return.
Whatever bee was in his bonnet is no longer there and it's pretty much a sure bet that I'm going to be allowed to continue. When I heard about my colleague being fined, I got a bit panicky and asked around for advice. Of the half dozen people I asked, all of them told me to do nothing until it became an issue; you know, just continue running the rental as if you have every right to do so and don't answer your critics until they make a complaint. In other words, I was being urged to take a 'don't apologize, don't explain' approach. But the size of the fine had me concerned and so I didn't take their advice. I acted in my own best interest before I had a problem.
So again, an ounce of prevention. That's where I'm coming from here. I think it's also worth recognizing that Air rentals are seen as being quite lucrative in some markets, so there's the envy factor that needs to be taken into account. I suspect that may have been what got my colleague reported and what prompted my neighbour to try to stir up trouble.
I've been very careful to minimize the amount of income I make and maximize the amount of work involved when I do talk about my Airbnb. My department secretary was the one who told me about my colleague and he quickly followed up with the advice to keep schtum about it at work. That colleague does not know who turned her in after all, and he's of the opinion that it may have been another colleague, one who may have resented her extra income.
Anyway, this is all FWIW here.
