[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by Velvet

You are using the incorrect terms when referring to various types of residences. Hotels and Airbnbs are commercial properties when they are rented out. They generate income therefore, they are businesses. Residences are homes which are not commercial in nature. I don’t know of any Airbnbs that don’t charge any money for various people to stay at them, do you?

Originally Posted by Bill14564

Don’t take my word for it, look at the Florida statutes. Airbnbs are not hotels and are not commercial properties.

Originally Posted by BrianL99

I'm sorry, but you are incorrect.

Hotels are "businesses". Business is conducted within the 4 walls of the building.

Short Term Rental Units ("AirBnB" is a platform, it is not a housing unit), in most cases, are only used for 'residential use" ... people live in them for a day, a week or a month.

The "business" is the conducting of business. Dealing with customers, making payments, doing bookwork, etc.. Typically, that is NOT conducted in the housing unit that is rented, it is conducted elsewhere.

The "use" of the structure (home) continues to be 'residential'.

Most every court in the USA has agreed with that interpretation, which is why courts all over the USA have ruled in favor of allowing Short Term Rentals.

Originally Posted by Velvet

Just curious, so how does the IRS define the income?

The reality is that the subject at hand is a grey area. Unfortunately, laws defining a rental property business are outdated and were written when AIRBnB’s didn’t exist. The laws never contemplated owners of residential properties advertising through an app on the internet to rent rooms in their homes by the night to transient tenants. In the world I have lived in for a long time, when a party charges an unrelated third party a fee to sleep in a bed with a roof over their head, they are running a business. And the IRS agrees with that opinion. Rental income from AIRBnB’s is considered taxable income. The deed restrictions in the district we live in clearly state two things. The homes are limited to single family residential usage, and businesses aren’t allowed be run out of the homes. In my opinion, homeowners renting long term to a single family, who are not concurrently living in the home, are definitely not violating those restrictions. On the other hand, homeowners who rent out rooms by the day to unrelated third parties, are definitely violating both deed restrictions.

The reality is that at the end of the day, deed restrictions are completely worthless unless they are enforced. The deed restrictions in question fall under the definition on internal deed restrictions, which are enforced at the discretion of the developer. The other deed restrictions, which are considered external, are required to be enforced by the CDD’s. So a resident can put a little white cross in their garden, which won’t disrupt the quality of life in the neighborhood, but will result in daily fines because it’s an external restriction. But if a different neighbor is running a turnstile daily rental out of their home, that totally disrespects and distrusts the neighborhood, they are good to go because the developer has chosen to look the other way.

Clearly, something in this equation simply doesn’t add up.