Short-term rentals (aka Airbnb or vrbo) are businesses and don’t belong in residential zones (“Short-term rentals on hot seat”). This shouldn’t be complicated, it is a zoning issue.

These are not landlord/tenant agreements, they are short-term rentals expressly for the purpose of producing profit and have nothing to do with providing homes for tenants, therefore they do not belong in residential zones. If we would enforce zoning regulations, the “short-term” rentals would not be allowed in residential zones because they are business transactions and not housing agreements.

The difference is easy to see — a tenant moves into a rental; they move in, they bring their belongings and they set up a home to reside in. The rental home becomes their home address.

The “short-term” rentals are for the purpose of temporary shelter, the “resident” does not bring their furniture and their belongings nor do they intend to set up a home to reside in, and the short term rental does not become their home address, thus making it a vacation or hotel-type of agreement and the homeowner is renting these properties out to short-term guests for the purpose of producing income, not for the purpose of providing a home to a tenant hoping to profit from the landlord/tenant agreement.

We don’t need new legislation to restrict short term rental locations, we need to enforce zoning laws that set up areas as residential zones restricting business use of residential properties.

Thank you for the article bringing this plight to our attention.

Nancy Caouette
Sun City