Michigan Real Estate News

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Short-term Home Rentals Create Debate

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Two Michigan bills that address short-term home rentals have created intense debate about who will determine how to regulate dwellings like Airbnb or vacation rentals. The Ann Arbor-based Michigan Municipal League and Lansing-based Michigan Association of Realtors are on opposite sides with each asking its constituents to email, call and write to their local legislators about the bills. Under the bills, a short-term rental would be a residential use of property. It would be a permitted use in all residential zones. It would not require a special use or conditional use permit, and it would not be a commercial use of property. Opponents of the bills call them a “cookie-cutter approach” to legislation that ignores the different needs of Michigan communities.

 

Weekly News Brief – May 31, 2021

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Now that the economy is slowly progressing back to normal, the issues facing real estate are also slowly getting back to normal.

This week we saw reports that one of the pre-pandemic greatest hits is returning back to the forefront. The Republican-controlled state legislature is moving forward on a bill that would ban local restrictions on short-term rentals. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, local governments fought short-term rentals with a ferocity that had not been seen since the first days of the legalization of marijuana.

However, the lack of travel during the COVID-19 pandemic brought these disputes to a halt. However, now that leisure travel is returning, these disputes are also returning. While I do not expect the current bill to pass in its current form, the tension between local governments, generally responsive to neighbors who oppose short-term rentals in residential zones, and the state legislature, who may be more responsive to the lobbying efforts of companies such as Airbnb and Vrbo.

 

Michigan Legislature May Nix Short-Term Rental Laws

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Bills in the Michigan legislature that have bipartisan support would nix local laws that ban or limit short-term rentals through zoning. The bills are controversial and have garnered heated debate. Proponents like Airbnb, realtors, and lawmakers from both parties say the proposed changes to state law are about personal property rights and do not prevent cities from regulating short-term rentals. Opponents, which include leaders from cities all over the state and hoteliers, say they do not support an outright ban on short-term rentals. They feel that local leaders should have the power to decide what rules are most effective for their communities.