How Your Condo Association Should Handle Short Term Rentals

How To Handle Short Term Rentals

Home-sharing and short-term rentals have becoming increasing common due to the popularity of websites like Airbnb.com. Using services like Airbnb, people who are looking for a temporary place to stay can rent a home or even just a bedroom from a homeowner in their desired location.

While these services are convenient for many travelers and they’re a nice way for homeowners to earn some extra cash, several conflicts can arise – especially when the homeowner is part of a condo association. Condo association boards need to be wary of these services for a number of reasons.

Does your condo board know how to handle short-term rentals?

One of the primary concerns with services like Airbnb is security. When a condo owner rents out space, the renter gains access to condo amenities and common areas. Since they aren’t responsible for paying fees, there is always a chance that they may cause damage or take advantage of their privileges.

It’s also important to consider whether the short-term renter will be covered under the condo’s insurance policy. If they’re injured in a common area or if they cause damage, will your insurance policy cover it? The lines aren’t always clear.

How You Can Handle Short-Term Rentals

Airbnb and other short-term rental services aren’t going away anytime soon, so condo boards and managers need to be proactive. Updating your condo laws to reflect the rules for short-term rentals is wise.

While short-term rentals are risky, they are a good way for condo owners to earn a bit of extra money, and since these services seem to be here to stay, it’s smarter to come up with ways to work with the changes than to try to avoid them all together.

If you’re going to allow condo owners to rent their units out temporarily, you may want to require a minimum rental period. It’s also wise to implement a rule that states owners can only rent out their condos as a whole. Lastly, you will definitely want to require that all short-term rental leases are signed and submitted to the board in writing prior to the rental takes place.

As a condo association, you need to make sure that the rules are enforced fairly for all unit owners. While you may want to keep owners happy by allowing them to earn money through short-term rentals, you need to consider other tenants as well as the liability risks.

Determining the best way to handle short-term rentals in your condo association can be a challenge. For reliable property management in Florida, contact AMI of Southwest Florida.

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