A short-term rental property is a rental of any residential home unit or accessory building for a short period. Generally, short-term rentals include stays of less than 30 days, with a maximum length varying depending on the jurisdiction of the location.
Short-term rentals are also sometimes referred to as vacation rentals, transient rentals, and resort dwelling units. Therefore, the definition of the short-term rental depends on the location of the property and the organization or agency you are dealing with.
Types of Short Term Rentals
There are different categories of short-term rentals. They are often categorized into subdivisions like accessory dwellings, entire homes, or individual rooms. If a property owner designates the property as their home 51% of the time, it is referred to as an owner-occupied dwelling. If that is not the case, the property is considered a non-owner occupied dwelling. Here are the different types of short-term rentals.
Entire Homes
A rental property can be considered a short-term rental if the owner spends much of the time there. However, the owner occasionally rents it out for a few days or weeks in a year. Besides, if the absentee-owner rents out the property for short stays (let’s say for 45 days in a year), it would be considered a short-term rental. Such types of rentals are categorized as entire homes.
Accessory Dwellings
If a homeowner decides to rent out part of the property they currently live in (it could be a garage apartment or a guest house) for short periods, it is considered a short-term rental. Similarly, if the property owner partly stays in the house and decides to rent out a portion of it, it will still be categorized as accessory dwellings. Such establishments are common, especially in major cities.
Rooms
If a property owner rents out one or more rooms in their primary home for short stays (a maximum of three days per stay), it will be considered a short-term rental. Similarly, if the property owner was to do that but lives in far-off areas, it will still fall under short-term rentals.