Is AirBnB short-term rentals considered a business or rental?
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Is AirBnB short-term rentals considered a business or rental?
We have a short-term rental that we are running in Tucson. The HOA recently stated that we needed to shut it down because the CCR’s state that the residence cannot be used as a business. However, there are no restrictions about the residence being used as a rental – no short-term rental language is present in the CCR’s – so we view it as a
residence and is used for housing as the CCR’s state. Does our HOA have a right to stop us from using the property as a short-term rental or do we have an argument that since no language is present, we should be able to continue to classify it as a rental?
Asked on October 22, 2018 under Real Estate Law, Colorado
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
Yes, it would most likely be considered as a business since you are doing this to make money which, after all, is the purpose of a business or commercial endeavor. It would be one thing is you were relocting for work or a project and wanted to rent it out while you have been relocated to offset your continuing carrying costs (e.g. HOA fees, utilities, maintenance, taxes, etc.) on the property; that would typically not be considered a business. But AirBnB rentals, where you rent to different people each time, for very short periods of time, and are (we presume) making significantly more than the carrying cost for the unit for the length of time you are renting it (i.e. you are making a profit, not just offsetting costs) would generally be considered running a business.
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