I am buying a condominium and plan to rent it on Airbnb when I’m not using it. Awesome idea, right?

Well… unfortunately this is a bit of a murky situation.  Renting your condominium unit on a short-term basis, whether through Airbnb or otherwise, might not be permitted for a number of different reasons.  These reasons include, among others, the rules of your particular condominium, the terms of your mortgage agreement, provisions of your insurance policy and municipal by-laws.

The consequences of using the unit as a short-term rental in violation of these rules can include, among other things, fines, court orders requiring you to stop, default under your mortgage or nullifying your insurance coverage.  Further, even if a condominium’s rules do not currently prohibit short term rentals, if enough unit owners want to impose a rule change, a new rule restricting short term rentals could be implemented.  We have seen a significant number of condominiums pass new rules restricting short term rentals in recent months.

The short answer is that you need to tread carefully if you intend to rent your property on a short-term basis.  Make sure your real estate agent, lawyer, lender and insurance provider have all been informed of your plans at the earliest opportunity and consider carefully whether you would still want to purchase the unit if, in the future, you were prevented from renting it out through Airbnb or a similar service due to a rule change or new regulations.