Short-term rentals are often divided into different categories, such as entire homes, accessory dwellings or individual rooms. If the owner designates the property as their homestead 51% of the time or more, it’s usually considered an owner-occupied dwelling. If not, the property would be considered a non-owner-occupied dwelling.
Entire homes
A rental property can be considered a short-term rental if the owner spends most of the time there but occasionally rents out the whole home for a few days or weeks, up to a maximum number of days per year.
Additionally, if an absentee owner rents out their property for short stays, up to a given number of days per year, that would also be considered a short-term rental.
Accessory dwellings
If an owner were to rent out a portion of a property they live in – such as a guest house or garage apartment – for short periods of time that, too, would be considered a short-term rental.
If an absentee owner were to rent out similar accessory dwellings for a given number of days per year on a property they own but do not live in, that also would be considered a short-term rental.
Rooms
If an owner rents out one or more rooms in their primary home for short stays, up to a maximum number of days per year, that’s considered a short-term rental.
If an owner were to do this but live off-site at a different property, it would still be considered a short-term rental.
Does the definition of a short-term rental vary between jurisdictions?
Certain jurisdictions make further distinctions between different types of short-term rentals, complicating the “what is a short-term rental?” question. While some areas differentiate between single-family and multi-family homes, others make a distinction between short-term rental properties located in areas zoned as residential and properties located in commercial or multi-use areas. Some will divide short-term rental properties where the owner is present for the entire time of the rental from those where the owner is not present for the full duration.
Local government websites should provide the community with detailed information about how the jurisdiction defines a short-term rental.
What does the future of short-term rentals look like?
The continued popularity of companies like Airbnb and Vrbo show that short-term rentals aren’t just a big-city phenomenon. There is now a global boom, with the number of listings for short-term rental properties growing every year with hundreds of different short-term rental websites in existence.
Considering the growth of the sharing industry, it’s becoming more and more important for communities to engage with all stakeholders in the short-term rental industry. Studies show most short-term rental owners/operators are unaware of the rules around compliance and community preservation issues. Our short-term rental host compliance software opens the lines of communication driving higher compliance rates.
Navigating the world of short-term rentals and the many different distinctions made can be difficult, but with the help of the SBB Short-Term Rental Solution, your community will have the insights needed to identify undetected revenue. With solutions for short-term rental identification, host compliance, tax collection, licensing, and a hotline, you can upgrade your reporting process without impacting staff time.
The benefits aren’t just limited to increased revenue and efficiency – SBB tools enable cities to communicate changes and bridge the adoption gap around compliance, health, and safety with real-time notifications.