Last month we looked at the difference between working from home and running a business from home. This month we tackle the very contentious issue of es.

Whichever side of the fence you choose to sit on this one, there will always be someone frying the egg and bacon on the other side! It is thus very important that you word your Conduct Rules in a way that brings clarity to this much talked about topic.

The popular arguments:

It is my constitutional right to use my property to generate the best return on investment, provided I stay within the zoning framework of the municipality.
A B&B is not a business!
I only rent out a portion of my property. I live on the other portion.
My rentals are always for month at a time, which is no different from other forms of leasing.
My tenants are always properly screened and present no threat to the security of others.

Let’s all be totally honest for a minute – if you were a permanent resident in your unit, would you like it if the unit next door had a continuous stream of different occupants, whether or not this was daily, weekly or monthly?

For the pro B&B fraternity to argue that such turnover of occupants does not increase security risks or the possibility of disturbances, is like trying to argue that a leopard is an acceptable house pet that the trustees should approve!

And if you are still not convinced, spare a thought for the holiday flats on Strand beach, where owners in their attempt to reap big bucks over the holiday season, impose their rowdy, holiday tenants on the permanent residents. To impose sanctions on the owner for breaches of rules, just doesn’t do justice to the beach sand that is strewn across the floor from the main entrance to the lift doors!

In most residential instances, the zoning of the property would stipulate that the property should be used primarily for residential purposes. But it is also common knowledge that when you buy into a community scheme, you become bound by the Conduct Rules of that scheme, even where same may limit your constitutional rights. Your right is in deciding whether or not to buy into the scheme, but once you do, the Conduct Rules, as determined by the owners through special resolution, apply to you whether you like it or not.

If it was the intention of town planning experts to allow hotel type accommodation on a residential property, they would have given the property dual zoning rights. They didn’t do this for good reason, so for owners to look for loopholes to justify their bed and breakfast operation, is inconsiderate at best.

You cannot rely on the “running a business” clause, as this just takes you down the rabbit hole of what constitutes a business? You cannot rely on municipal zoning as this can be vague at best and who will actually enforce it?

So what is the answer? It’s actually very simple. Make sure that the wording in your Conduct Rules is blatantly clear, so that even Donald Trump wouldn’t dare to advertise his unit on air bnb.

In closing, here are some thoughts on the type of things to include :

Prohibit short term leases.
Define short term leases as anything less than 3 months.
Stipulate clearly any processes that might need to be followed by all new tenants.
Stipulate clearly what process is to be followed should a tenant transgress the rules (same should hold the owner of the unit responsible).
Restrict the number of occupants in a unit, based on the number of bedrooms (usually 2 per bedroom).

And always remember to pass any changes to your rules by special resolution, and to register your newly approved rules with the CSOS.