Category Archives: sharing economy

+1 State Supreme Court Win. Short Term Rentals are a Residential Use

Arkansas Supreme Court joined other states finding that short term rentals are not commercial uses of property.

Vera Lee Revocable Trust v. O’Bryant, 537 S.W.3d 254 (Ark. 2018). Accord, Slaby v. Mountain River Estates Residential Ass’n, Inc.,100 So. 3d 569 (Ala. Ct. Civ. App. 2012).

Kentucky Appellate Courts find that short term rentals can violate covenants, but FL and WA courts disagree.

Harvard Law School | Short term rentals (such as Airbnb) held not to violate a covenant prohibiting…

Local TREND. Fees on Short Term Rental to Fund Domestic Violence Shelters. Where. What. How Much.

Where: Chicago

What do short term rental taxes/fees currently look like: 

  • Chicago has a 4% surcharge on short term rental platforms
  • The surcharge & fee are on top of the 17.4% hotel/motel tax
  • Chicago has a $10,000 license fee for platforms
  • Chicago also imposes a $60 per-unit fee

How much is the new proposed fee? An additional 2% fee earmarked for shelter beds for victims of domestic abuse

Illinois Policy | The mayor’s proposed 2 percent fee would punish short-term rental customers and…

Lege Trend. Short Term Rental Registry. What you need to know.

Massachusettes Legislature is considering a short term rental regualtory structure that would create a data base for short term rentals.

The data base would:

  • maintained by the state agency with oversight
  • including information regarding Host
  • available for public review
  •  individual names will be redacted from the records available for public view

H3454 (2018 |MA) 

Private Property Rights in the Middle of a State Budget Fight.

Short Term Rentals, and the tax on short term rentals, became a bargaining chip in New Jersey Legislators.

Estimated annual revenue from the short term rental revenue in New Jersey: $250 million 

How New Jersey Would tax Short Term rentals:

  •  expand sales tax
  • apply the state’s  6.625% sales tax to r entals of fewer than 90 days would be taxed

NJ.com | Tax on shore rentals? I don’t like it, Phil Murphy says of Dem leaders’ key budget offer.

Local Lonestar TREND. Short Term Rental Ordinance Requires Inspection + Notification to Neighbors

City: Coppell

The short term renal ordinance passed by Coppelll City: 

  • must be owner’s primary residence
  • must be registered with the city
  • requires an emergency contact number be provided
  • property be inspected
  • notification to neighbors within 100 feet with a 24-hour hotline number for complaints

Coppell Gazette | Coppell City Council passes short-term rental ordinance 

Local Trend. Ordinance Limits Short Term Rental Properties.

Where: Boston, Massachusetts

Which properties can be offered for short term rental? Owner Occuppied Properties

Which properties cannot be offered for short term rental? 

  • properties occuppied by tenants
  • properties owned by investors

Boston Globe | City Council passes tough rules that limit Airbnb rentals. 

Land Use regulatory TREND. Real Estate License Requirements for Short Term Rentals?

State:Pennsylvania

The regulatory requirement for managing short term rentals: a real estate broker licensing requirement that “makes it a crime for anyone but a fully licensed real estate broker to help property owners manage rental properties on sites like Airbnb” 

Who challenged the regualtory scheme? The Institute for Justice

What have the courts done? Appellate Court has kept the licensing requirement in tact

What is the argument against a broker license for managing short term…

Local Preemption Bills 2018. TREND SPOTTING.

Legal TREND. Texas Supreme Court + Short Term Rentals + Restrictive Covenants = Win for Short Term Rentals

Court: Texas Supreme Court 

Case: Tarr v. Timberwood Park Owners Ass’n, Inc.

Did restrictive covenants stop short term rentals? No, short term rentals can continue. 

How did short term rentals continue in the face of restrictive covenenants that limit use of a property to single-family residences?

  • Covenants did not address leasing of property
  • Covenants did not require owner occupation
  • Since covenants addressed neither, there was no prohibition from short term leasing

3 Reasons to Allow Short Term Rentals from the Right.

Texas Public Policy Foundation sets forth these reasons to support short term rental industry:

  • People should have a right to rent out their homes
  • Don’t add regulations for short term rentals, reduce regulations for hotels/motels to level the playing field
  • “an intrusion by the government into the lives of everyday” people

TPPF in the New York Daily News | PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE A RIGHT TO RENT OUT THEIR HOMES SHORT-TERM: DEFENDING AIRBNB IS ABOUT PROTECTING BASIC FREEDOM