By: Howard S. Goldman, Esq.* –
Airbnb – you either love it or you hate it. With roughly 1 in 10 U.S. adults using short-term accommodations, their popularity is undeniable. And for the millions who vacation in Massachusetts each year, short-term rental sites offer a wide range of price points in a state notorious for its lack of mid-priced accommodations at premier tourist draws: Boston, Cape Cod, and the Berkshires.
But other populations are decidedly less enamored by the ascent of Airbnb: condominiums, abutters and the hotel industry. At Goldman & Pease we regularly help condominium associations, property managers and management companies faced with refereeing a new breed of disputes. Additionally, abutters to the roof deck that is rented out for bachelorette gatherings each weekend and the condominium owner sandwiched between two downtown Airbnbs have had lots to complain about. In short, some are winning and some are clearly losing in this new rental accommodation landscape.
Strict Registration Requirements
Massachusetts’ new laws regulating short-term rentals became fully effective on December 1, 2019, and define short-term rentals as accommodations rented out more than 14 days per calendar year at more than $15/day. The new laws require short-term rental owners and intermediaries like Airbnb to register online with the Mass. Department of Revenue by providing proof of residency and adequate insurance through various documentation, paying certain annual licensing fees, getting a business certificate, notifying neighbors and, once an owner has accomplished all that, adding the registration number to on-line intermediary sites such as Airbnb to prove that the accommodations are properly registered. These registration requirements make Massachusetts the first state in the nation to establish a state-wide registry. [Read more…]
Shared living arrangements provide many benefits to individual homeowners but may be bothersome to neighbors who are worried about health and safety, parking, and security risks. These concerns are compounded in the condominium setting where there are so many people living in a condensed area.
Imagine arriving home to your condominium after a long day of work, opening the door to your unit, and being confronted with several inches of standing water. You enter your unit to the sound of dripping and look up to see that the ceiling in your living room is completely saturated with water. Upon further investigation, you discover that a leaking water supply valve in your upstairs neighbor’s unit has caused the serious water damage.
There are pros and cons to allowing rentals. Tenants are more likely to abuse common areas and amenities, violate condominium association rules, and be less conscientious caretakers of the units they occupy as compared to homeowners. A large concentration of tenants will significantly change the nature of a condominium community and could potentially lower the market price and affect the ability of owners to refinance. On the other hand, however, certain condominium unit owners value the ability to rent out units as a financial investment and want the flexibility of being able to rent out the unit during a short term geographical relocation.
