[margaretmattson]

If anyone seriously wants to stop the AirBNB business I would suggest starting with the site VillagersHome4Rent. Ask them if they require each renter to have a license and if sales tax is collected.

You aren't necessarily looking to shut them down. You are merely gaining evidence that businesses have been conducted in many homes throughout the Villages for many years.

Then I would just make a call to a company like Morgan and Morgan and explain the situation. Deed Restriction is not being enforced and hasn't been for many years. Explain the site Villagers4Rent and how many homes are listed for rent. I believe, right now, it is over 1000. Morgan and Morgan will take your information and decide if they wish to handle the case. If they take the case, you are not required to pay anything unless they win.

If they say they are not interested, you still have a case. You go to the County Clerk office and fill out documents for a Civil Case. The courts handle it from there.

While filling out the documents, you may want to get a petition signed to show the court how many people believe they have been wronged. If there are court costs just collect say $1 from each person to cover that expense. Either way, lawyer or not, there will be no fees.

If you find Villagers4 Rent is not in complete compliance with Florida and County Laws report them. Let the state and counties handle fining them or whatever.

Not a lawyer, just my idea. I would do this myself but I am not fully committed. I believe the Villages would be a better community if there were no AirBNB's. But, I also like the idea of being able to rent my home if I ever needed. Also, I question whether or not this will affect home prices. If prices fall, we lose equity. Too big a gamble for me.