topic Re: The other side/ Vacation Rentals in Community Chat

The other side/ Vacation Rentals

NVmimi — Sat, 07 Oct 2017 17:54:05 GMT

We live on a quiet, private street with only 5 houses. Everything has been great the 21 years we have lived here, and then the house across from us was sold last Feb to a couple from CA who have/ had no plans to actually reside there, but use it as a vacation rental aka "party house".

Now to the reason for this post...plz don't assume when you rent a vacation rental off airbnb or vrbo, or any of the numerous sites that it is legal. We live in Clark County, NV which makes up the majority of the Las Vegas valley. Vacation rentals are NOT legal in the county! Inside Las Vegas city limits they are legal, but again, not where we live. So do your homework plz!

If the landlord doesn't post an address online, or requires a 30 day lease it's a safe bet it's an illegal rental. Just plz verify the legality,as I'm sure this is an issue in other places also.

Re: The other side/ Vacation Rentals

Rockycoast — Sat, 07 Oct 2017 18:56:04 GMT

Have you gone to the powers that be in your town/city and let them know it is being rented out? That this is not the primary residence of the owners. Perhaps they can send a cease and disist order to them.

Re: The other side/ Vacation Rentals

chrystaltree — Sat, 07 Oct 2017 19:49:46 GMT

Okay but if I am a vacationer and I rent an Air BnB house for a week, why the heck would I care if the owner of the house is legally allowed to do it???? That wouldn't even cross my mind and quite frankly, I wouldn't care because I'm not breaking any laws or zoning regulations and there's zero chance of it interrupting my vacation. If neighbors report the owner, the owner will be cited and that wouldn't happen until long after I enjoyed the house and the vacation was just a happy memory. Some towns do have regulations that ban sublets, vacation rentals, Air BnB etc but they aren't really enforceable. No one in their right mind would ever rent a place without an address. People want to Google Earth see the house, the neighborhood, the town. And....they need an address to get their...lol Although most people use Air BnB for that type of thing. They aren't concerned about the zoning stuff.

Re: The other side/ Vacation Rentals

NVmimi — Sat, 07 Oct 2017 21:26:37 GMT

TPTB are working the case.

Nice of you to care, only can hope this happens to you personally so you can see the "other side", but in all honesty I would expect such a response from you!

And to let you know, you can be kicked out of an illegal rental, wouldn't that make your vacation special!

Re: The other side/ Vacation Rentals

I am still oxox — Sat, 07 Oct 2017 21:34:32 GMT

Why are you so sure it is going to be a "party house" not all rentals are like that, DH and I have rented for vacation at least 10 times and we are far from partyers

Re: The other side/ Vacation Rentals

chrystaltree — Sat, 07 Oct 2017 21:53:12 GMT

@NVmimi wrote:
TPTB are working the case.
Nice of you to care, only can hope this happens to you personally so you can see the "other side", but in all honesty I would expect such a response from you!

And to let you know, you can be kicked out of an illegal rental, wouldn't that make your vacation special!

No, there's no chance the vacationer would be kicked out. You know as well as I do that when neighbors report such things, there's a process. And the complaint is against the homeowner. He or she is citing for zoning laws and they get a citiation and yada yada but that takes time. A lot of time. Which is the problem with things like that. It's why homeowners go around them. The process hasn't caught up with the reality. Yes, it's true. I generally don't tell people what they want to hear just to make them feel good. I don't know why you think the vacation renter has any responsibility in such things. Renters or AirBnb boarders just assume that the renter is following local regs. It's not something they even consider. You problem is with the homeowners.

Re: The other side/ Vacation Rentals

sockmonkey — Sat, 07 Oct 2017 22:20:18 GMT

Hi Chrystaltree,

Just to let you know, vacationers actually CAN be kicked out during their vacation.

This just happened. Our friends live in a condo. Someone in their building was renting out their unit. Their tenant was renting it out as an Air BnB - prohibiited by the condo assoc and CC&R's. The AirBnb-ers were kicked out - during their vacation - by the association. The owner of the unit (that had been illegally rented out by her tenant) had to pay to have the whole building re-keyed and new keys for everyone! All of those "vacationers" had keys to the building and all the entry codes!

So, as an AirBnB renter, you can be unknowingly "renting" from a tenant who is prohibited to "sub-lease" and if the owner finds out, you can be kicked out right there and then!

Re: The other side/ Vacation Rentals

proudlyfromNJ — Sat, 07 Oct 2017 22:26:31 GMT

When we travel in the US with my family, usually 8-10 of us, we always use vrbo. Never had a problem and the owners or real estate always specify, not a party house and we pay a deposit. Never had any problems. Much cheaper this way than a hotel.

Re: The other side/ Vacation Rentals

catchersmom — Sat, 07 Oct 2017 23:15:18 GMT

@NVmimi Thank you for the warning; it's not something I had ever really thought about before but I'm sure most of us would prefer to be doing a legal rental versus violating a law/regulation.

I suspect we will hear more about situations like this though with the popularity of those kind of rentals increasing.

Re: The other side/ Vacation Rentals

CrazyDaisy — Sat, 07 Oct 2017 23:27:17 GMT

@sockmonkey wrote:
Hi Chrystaltree,

Just to let you know, vacationers actually CAN be kicked out during their vacation.

This just happened. Our friends live in a condo. Someone in their building was renting out their unit. Their tenant was renting it out as an Air BnB - prohibiited by the condo assoc and CC&R's. The AirBnb-ers were kicked out - during their vacation - by the association. The owner of the unit (that had been illegally rented out by her tenant) had to pay to have the whole building re-keyed and new keys for everyone! All of those "vacationers" had keys to the building and all the entry codes!

So, as an AirBnB renter, you can be unknowingly "renting" from a tenant who is prohibited to "sub-lease" and if the owner finds out, you can be kicked out right there and then!

The renters were probably asked to leave and did so willingly. Actually they were there with the owners permission and could have stayed. The association could not forcably remove them. That is a legal matter

Re: The other side/ Vacation Rentals

glb613 — Sun, 08 Oct 2017 00:31:36 GMT

I hate rental property. Nothing ruins a neighborhood faster than rental propety. I wish there was some way to make it illegal.

Re: The other side/ Vacation Rentals

Plaid Pants2 — Sun, 08 Oct 2017 01:08:22 GMT

I just don't trust places on AirB&B, because the rental places do not have to meet the same safety standards that hotels do.

Plus, as a renter, how do you know that there aren't hidden cameras capturing your image in your states of undress?

What's to stop the owner from returning and harming you?

Even with the recent tragedy in Las Vegas, I'll still take my chances in a hotel over staying in some strangers home.

But that is just me and my opinion and feelings on the matter.

Re: The other side/ Vacation Rentals

sassenach1 — Sun, 08 Oct 2017 01:14:19 GMT

@Plaid Pants2 wrote:
I just don't trust places on AirB&B, because the rental places do not have to meet the same safety standards that hotels do.

Plus, as a renter, how do you know that there aren't hidden cameras capturing your image in your states of undress?

What's to stop the owner from returning and harming you?

Even with the recent tragedy in Las Vegas, I'll still take my chances in a hotel over staying in some strangers home.

But that is just me and my opinion and feelings on the matter.

Exactly! It is not even a level playing field. Hotels have safety, cleanliness and many other standards they must adhere to. I would never trust AB&B. Hotel have strict laws around many safety standards.

Re: The other side/ Vacation Rentals

AuntG — Sun, 08 Oct 2017 01:33:05 GMT

@sockmonkey, thanks for setting the record straight that vacationers can indeed be kicked out. Well I'm pretty sure @chrystaltree won't be back because she doesn't admit to mistakes.

Re: The other side/ Vacation Rentals

suzyQ3 — Sun, 08 Oct 2017 01:41:00 GMT

@glb613 wrote:
I hate rental property. Nothing ruins a neighborhood faster than rental propety. I wish there was some way to make it illegal.

@glb613, rental property in general or just limited duration rentals? There is a big difference.

Re: The other side/ Vacation Rentals

Ms tyrion2 — Sun, 08 Oct 2017 02:08:11 GMT

@glb613 wrote:
I hate rental property. Nothing ruins a neighborhood faster than rental propety. I wish there was some way to make it illegal.

Really?

You would deny people who don't want to or can't buy a house a place to live?

That's pretty harsh

Re: The other side/ Vacation Rentals

Mominohio — Sun, 08 Oct 2017 02:28:10 GMT

@chrystaltree wrote:
Okay but if I am a vacationer and I rent an Air BnB house for a week, why the heck would I care if the owner of the house is legally allowed to do it???? That wouldn't even cross my mind and quite frankly, I wouldn't care because I'm not breaking any laws or zoning regulations and there's zero chance of it interrupting my vacation. If neighbors report the owner, the owner will be cited and that wouldn't happen until long after I enjoyed the house and the vacation was just a happy memory. Some towns do have regulations that ban sublets, vacation rentals, Air BnB etc but they aren't really enforceable. No one in their right mind would ever rent a place without an address. People want to Google Earth see the house, the neighborhood, the town. And....they need an address to get their...lol Although most people use Air BnB for that type of thing. They aren't concerned about the zoning stuff.

I think your vacation could indeed be interrupted if the authorities find out and clear the house while you are in it for violation of the codes/laws.

I think the OP made a valid point and something I would never have thought about.

I appreciate the heads up.

Re: The other side/ Vacation Rentals

sunshine45 — Sun, 08 Oct 2017 02:37:38 GMT

honestly, i think that @chrystaltree had a very valid point, especially when responding to the original post. how are you going to get people out of a HOME if they have rented it for a week. the police wont have the power to do that. they will stay in there and then it is up to the state or county or homeowners association to fine the owner of the property so that they wont do it again.

it wont even necessarily be easy for those in condos or townhomes either.

not everyone will make it into a "party home" either.

Re: The other side/ Vacation Rentals

Kalli — Sun, 08 Oct 2017 02:46:25 GMT

We have rental properties. Only 1 is a vacation rental. The condo association specifies if we rent it out it must be for at least 3 months at a time to the same folks. Now, we could actually rent it monthly but not claim we are receiving an income. Wouldn't be honest but it would be hard to prove unless renters admitted it.

We do rent it out for 4 months each year to a nice couple and haven't had any complaints. This pays the fees and extra stuff for us. If there was a problem the renters would be evicted and we'd prob sell it. We do enjoy going there in Nov and Dec. but if it became a headache, we'd ditch it.

Our properties are our investments and our source of income.

Re: The other side/ Vacation Rentals

JaneMarple — Sun, 08 Oct 2017 02:51:02 GMT

@sunshine45 wrote:
honestly, i think that @chrystaltree had a very valid point, especially when responding to the original post. how are you going to get people out of a HOME if they have rented it for a week. the police wont have the power to do that. they will stay in there and then it is up to the state or county or homeowners association to fine the owner of the property so that they wont do it again.

it wont even necessarily be easy for those in condos or townhomes either.

not everyone will make it into a "party home" either.

I agree @sunshine45 especially since civil matters take time to reach courts in the first place. If the renters are not being disruptive in any way then the police can't enforce the renters to leave. The HOA can after the fact bring a suit against the owners, something is missing from the story.