Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Short-term rentals

[Patricia Lautner (lautnerp]

Short-term rentals (STR) relate directly with affordability.  Nobody really
WANTS to invite strangers into their home, unless they could really use the
money.  With that lens, I think communities should be very open to making
it work.

At JPCohousing we've had both success and problems with STRs. Personally,
for several years before the pandemic, we subsidized our income with STR
and it was a great experience.  We met people from all parts of the globe
and we are still in touch with a few folks.  But the main point was that I
was able to send extra money to my kid in college for things like study
abroad, extra experiences, etc.  I made over $6,000 that first year! It
helped us immensely.

There were a few occasions where we had some trouble because the
member/owner was out of the country and his apartment was a STR revolving
door.  His housekeeper "flipped" the unit between guests and sometimes the
guests were not polite or didn't abide by the rules (smoking on the
patio....). We therefore launched a huge discussion. In the end, the
community said we will not regulate STRs if the owner is home just renting
a room.  However, if the owner is away, another community member/neighbor
must agree to be the host to handle any questions or problems that arise.
A hired third party who doesn't live here isn't eligible to serve as host.

One note - the community was very supportive of house 'swapping' with
families from other places. While I think house swapping is fabulous, I was
frustrated with this prejudice. Why is it OK to welcome strangers into the
community when the host is away, but *only if no money* is exchanged?

I recommend you let folks do what they have to do and make a plan to handle
the what-ifs.

Good luck
Patti
JPCohousing, Boston MA

On Tue, Mar 19, 2024 at 9:51 PM Marlies Metodi <m.metodi [at] gmail.com> wrote:

> Cohousing ABQ is trying to finalize our rental policy. Short-term rentals
> have been a hot discussion topic, especially with the rise of platforms
> like AirBnB.
> We are curious to hear what are other communities’ experiences are with
> short-term rentals? Do you allow an owner to post their unit on AirBnB if
> they are away for a while? How are these short rentals addressed in your
> policies? Are there any considerations with respect to federal guidelines
> for FHA loans, or other state and federal guidelines that Cohousing
> communities have considered?
>
> Thank you for any input!
> Marlies Metodi
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