Airbnb Problem
 

Here we are again, same problem same result. The developer needs to crack down on this.

https://www.**************.com/2023/...em-of-airbnbs/

People can’t be using their homes as a business with high customer volume. At the very least, sales disclosures should mention if this is a going problem in a neighborhood. Why should neighborhoods foot the pain for a greedy landlord’s abuses of The Villages system?

I have looked into this exhaustively and there is pretty much nothing we can do as long as the developer chooses to ignore it. Until something horrible happens that negatively affects sales it will continue. At some point if it becomes uncomfortable enough we will probably move into a community that does enforce the restrictions.

Rentals and Access to Charter Schools
 

A passing thought....

Will investors be able to purchase in Middleton (family section), rent the home -- presumably long term -- to a family who can then send their children to The Villages Charter schools?

Wonder if deed restrictions will be placed on those homes...

. Only my opinion but a parent needs to be employed by a business that is associated with TV.

The developer is only concerned with getting his homes sold. I know of one investor who owns 5 homes here. Kinda obvious they are not going to live in all of them, don't you think?

I don't know what you mean that you "looking into it exhaustively", but I disagree.

All owners are 3rd party beneficiaries of the Deed Restrictions. The Developer has the right, but not the obligation to enforce the Restrictions. Any 3rd party beneficiary should have the right to bring suit to enforce them (or at least in some circumstances, as the Deed Restrictions vary throughout TV).

If I'm not mistaken there's a fairly new FL law that prohibits counties/towns from adopting regulations that prohibit STR's, but I doubt that has any bearing on TV, as the owner's of the units, had prior knowledge that "Business Use" is prohibited in TV. Under Florida Law, short term rentals a defined as a "Business".

Personally, I'd love to see a few 100 TV residents get together and file a lawsuit.

How does the developer get away with selling to investors? He is breaking his own deed restrictions. One I am sure he had lawyers draw up for him. Guess he forgot to read them. Too interested in selling homes. The more homes sold means prices can stay elevated.

In what way is he breaking his own deed restrictions? (Please post the wording from the restrictions)

2.10
 

“Properties within the Subdivision are intended for residential use and no commercial, professional or similar activity requiring either maintaining an inventory, equipment or customer/client visits may be conducted in or on a homesite.”

Of course airBnB specifically and repetitively uses the term customer for renters of units throughout its support website. The term commercial involves the exchange of funds and in many instances landlords even have contracts written supporting the commercial transaction. Of course renting also requires additional cleaning maintenance which does occur on the homesite.

The violation as a commercial entity is blatant.

Just responding to the post that states rentals are a business and conducting a business from your home in the Villages is prohibited in the deed restrictions. I believe the poster I responded to quoted the deed restriction. If the developer is knowingly selling his home to investors, he is breaking his own deed restrictions. Selling to a full time investor is selling him a full time business, not a home.

OK, so someone needs to call a lawyer and get an opinion if there is a case, against whom (I would guess the individual owners, or the developer for NOT enforcing the restriction) and the value of the case. I am sure that the owners of the AirBnB as well as probably AirBNB will reply with their own counter suit.

In any case I can feel the pain of the neighbors in this situation.

Sounds like a job for the POA—-they love opposing the developers

I already tried that and they said nothing they can do

I think that's part of the problem ... the case probably has little or no "value".

I suppose there's some possibility of "damages", but I doubt any qualified lawyer would take it on that basis ... too many accidents and other tort cases in FL, to feast on.

Which makes it a "pay as you get billed" action. The Defendants would likely be a sampling of STR owners and the Developer. Given the Developer's resources and track record, he could (& would) throw millions at the case.

I suppose it would be possible to file an action against a small sampling of STR owners and keep the Developer out of it. Whether he would stay out of it, is another story.

If someone was to do the organizing and put together a group of people who felt strongly enough to invest some money into exploring litigation, I'd certainly participate. I'm just not good at the "organizing" part. It would essentially be a "crowd sourcing" endeavor in the beginning ... maybe even a GoFundMe type arrangement.

All the words of the sentence are important. Commercial activities are not prohibited unless those activities require maintaining an inventory or customer/client visits

It is highly unlikely that the couch, chair, or dining room table will be considered to be inventory for the purposes of the deed restrictions. It is also unlikely that the renter would be considered a customer/client for those purposes either.

You want to use your interpretation to make it a violation to have a short term rental but it will also affect long term renters. A renter is a renter if he is there one night, one week, or one month. Since it is not a violation to have a renter for one month then it is clearly not a violation to have a renter. If a renter is not a violation then a renter that stays for only one week would not be a violation either.

You can argue it if you would like but you will still be wrong. But who am I to say? Make your case in court and let the lawyers hammer out whether a person sleeping in a home is a customer/client in the sense of the word as used in the restrictions and then only when they stay for a number of days that you find acceptable.

Be careful taking anything you read on here as correct. Just because a post claims something is a violation or a famous person has passed doesn't make it so.

WHY would the developer selling to an investor be a violation of the deed restrictions? Just because another poster said so? Who is this other poster? What are his qualifications for making such a claim? What is he basing his claim on? Posters on this site make all kinds of claims. You should know this, you've been reading these forums for some time now.

I gave my opinion of the rental situation above. But why assume an investor purchased a home to rent it out? With the way homes in the Villages appreciate, particularly in the last few years, what's to say the investor didn't purchase the homes to hold for 18 months and then sell at a profit? There would be no question of commercial activity because there would be no activity at all. How would that be a violation of the deed restrictions?

No idea I am not a lawyer. Seems we need a definition of no professional or similar activity. Not certain how you started talking about furniture. Deed restrictions says no inventory or customer/clients. We also would need definition of customer/client.

It appears you edited your post while I was looking up the wording in my deed restrictions. The wording in my restrictions matches that of post #9.

Again, all the words in the sentence are important. The entire phrase is "professional or similar activity requiring either maintaining an inventory, equipment or customer/client visits."

EDIT: It appears you edited yours again while I was writing the above. Not interested in playing whack-a-mole tonight.

Sorry, I mistakenly hit the submit button before I could review. What you posted is the correct wording.

It says No professional OR SIMILAR ACTIVITY requiring EITHER inventory, equipment, or CUSTOMER visits. The word either excludes what you have said about furniture and inventory. No need to prove inventory. Just the definition of professional activities OR SIMILAR ACTIVITIES and if renters can be considered CUSTOMERS/CLIENTS

I think it's fairly obvious that if you read the deed restrictions without any preconceived bias, that the purpose of that specific restriction is to prevent people selling regularly stocked inventory items out of their garage, or running a personal services businesses like a nail/hair salon out of their home.

Not necessarily so. I found a Florida law that requires all vacation rentals which are rented out more than three times a year must have a Florida license.

Also, I found information that a bill was voted on in the Florida Government in 2021 regarding HOA ability to ban vacation rentals. The bill was passed by a large margin. I just can't seem to find more information..

Anyone who is truly bothered by this please read Florida laws on Air BNBs and vacation rentals. I think together, we may find something. The developer, at the very least, would have to follow Florida Law.

Contact your local FL state representative's office, I am sure they will be able to help.

1) The Villages is not an HOA
2) The developer clearly doesn't want to prevent people from renting out their homes or they wouldn't be selling 4-5 homes to single individuals
3) The CDD structure of The Villages limits what rules that the Florida Government can impose

Maybe convincing each of the counties to ban short term rentals (under 30 days) might be a better approach.

Would it be wrong for me to ask an owner for his Florida license for the ability to rent his home? Then report him/her if they do not have one?

I read the rules for each county on vacation rentals. Sumter county has no regulations. Lake County you must have a license in addition to Florida license. Marion County you have to register your rental and pay yearly taxes. No city rules that I could find.

There is no doubt that renting a home is by DEFINITION A PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS. A license is required, Sales Tax must be collected and sent to the Department of Revenue, and a Florida Tangible Tax Return must be filed. 100% a business! However, Florida or no county has banned them including those that are rented out for only one, two, or several days. The law is written specifically to include short-term rentals.

Right now, It seems all we can do is report offenders who have no license to operate a rental property. If we report them, perhaps the offender will get shut down and fined. They will also get fined for not filing a Florida Tangible Tax Return. (yes, businesses get taxed in Florida)

There may be specific rules for posting your license on the premises. I didn't get that far.

If you still believe it is a violation of our deed restrictions, I believe we have a civil case. Florida clearly defines a rental property as a BUSINESS and taxes them accordingly. We do not need a lawyer to prove it. However, the judge may rule the deed restriction is not enforceable because it violates Florida Law. You can try! The people with the white cross law ornament lost even though stopping religious practice is against federal law.

Sorry guys, I am not a lawyer. But, I have owned businesses in Florida. Rental properties are UNDER LAW a business in Florida. If you are required to have a license, collect sales tax, and file a Tangible Tax Return, you have yourself a business.

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.

Not possible. Florida law prohibits that, as mentioned in a number of prior posts.

Florida legislators' plans to regulate short-term rentals hits snag | Orlando Area News | Orlando | Orlando Weekly

Yes i would agree with you .

I read the article, thanks! I was trying to explain how to set up a lawsuit for free. Maybe just not the right time. When Florida or the counties make a rule would be the right time.

The article does address that all rental properties have to be licensed and collect sales tax as well as tangible taxes, that is not contested. The law they are trying to create is to make certain the taxes actually hit the state coffers.

I would still tend to believe one could report any investor who does not have a license to the department of revenue. The investors are required to pay these taxes and to have a license. Not doing so is illegal. Reporting them would make it uncomfortable for them by adding a cost and fine to their expenses.

Not obvious at all. Florida law requires you need a license and to collect /pay sales tax. If you must collect sales tax from someone they are a customer/client. If you need a license to rent the home , you are a business.

But! The deed restriction, right now, is against Florida Law. Looks like lawmakers are trying to make lawsuits like this easier to do. If they succeed, we have a case. A judge is the only who can decide. And, we can get it to court for free.

I think there is way too much emotion put into this. What a shame that so much of someone's life is dedicated to hating something that they see, and then perceiving a larger problem than it actually is. Perhaps some would be better off looking for a community that does not allow rentals, or under 55yo residents, or excessive flower changing. Just my opinion. But this I know, you only have control over yourself and your own actions.

We R an HOA
 

Like it or not, each village falls under the guidelines of an HOA. Fees are collected for maintenance, rules are written to follow and nonresidents are restricted. Any judge or lawyer in a courtroom would laugh away a defense that said otherwise.

One could argue that a resident does have more skin in the game than a fly by night renter though, both monetarily and in physical upgrades to the neighborhood.

I would just point out that the IRS doesn't consider rental property as a business, it is an investment. You report business income on Schedule C, but you report rental income on Schedule E. Two different types of income.

It is a business
 

Interesting, but not accurate in the legal world for a defense. Ask yourself:

Was a contract written and signed?
Why does the Airbnb site call your renters “customers”?

Money or services were exchanged, but the income just falls under another taxable bracket?

One could argue all they want but the Villages does NOT have an HOA. The Villages works under a CDD which is defined by Florida law. I have not looked but I suspect an HOA is defined by Florida law as well. The two are not the same and the Villages is a CDD.

Even for those who couldn't care less about airbnbs, the fact that the Villages is not an HOA is important. HOAs have certain rights and responsibilities while CDDs have other rights and responsibilities. The differences are important in how they can affect what you are allowed to do as a homeowner.

Merely residing in a home in Middleton does not qualify for sending your kids to the charter schools.

TV has become to big to be a true retirement community. It's more becoming a resort and time share.

Even if they made a half hearted effort to implement some STR rules it would be almost impossible to track folks coming and going from month to month.

Mark my words TV is going to be a zoo this winter.

It's time to look for alternatives that truly are gated communities that have common sense STR rules that are enforceable.

Just for the heck of it, if you live near a home in TV that's used as a Short Term Rental, why not check to find out if it's Licensed by the State of Florida, as required?

Here's the LINK to check: Licensing Portal - License Search

Here's a Screen Shot of the form you complete online.

Have any of these snobby selfish people even had an incident with someone at a short term rental? I think not! There are several very close to me (one is next door) and the renters are never a problem and always nice and friendly. The owners pay the amenity fees year round so no one is getting to use your precious facilities for free. It is always the permanent residents who are the troublemakers. Day after day, Villagers are in the news for assault, drunk driving and recently manslaughter. I see that another sex offender just registered an address here. And you are worried about some short term rentals causing problems...ridiculous!

Schedule E is not labeled as investment. It is labeled as Rental Income. Again, when the time is right, it is for a judge to decide. If rentals were not a business, Florida lawmakers would not being working on a bill to correct the problem. In Florida, a vacation rental is 100% a business. Read the Florida Law.

The rentals ARE violating our deed restrictions. The problem is the clause as written may or may not be enforceable. The clause goes against Florida Law. This is the issue a judge would decide. Is the clause in the deed restriction legal?

CDD, HOA, doesn't matter. Everyone agreed they would follow the deed restrictions when they bought a home. Again, up for a judge to decide. The deed restriction makes it clear that you sue those not in compliance. A person(s) could do this for free. There is no shame in making certain all property owners adhere to the deed restrictions.

That is your opinion... it is not shared by all. Provide some facts or some arguments why you believe that. Others have provided their arguments against your opinion in this and several other threads. Relying on proof by emphatic assertion is ridiculous.

Already supplied the facts. Not ridiculous! Read the Florida Law yourself. Again, why would lawmakers at this time be working on a bill to correct the problem? Place your personal feelings aside. It is what it is.