In central Florida, if you are an AirBnb host and you currently have a renter, you may risk the possibility of voiding your homestead on your home. For those of you who are unfamiliar with AirBnb, it is a website where you can find people who will rent out a room in their house -- or their entire house -- for a person to stay. This has become the new alternative instead of staying in a hotel for many travelers around the world, and even fairly popular in the Orlando area.
Now that we know what AirBnB is, let's talk about homestead exemptions. As it sounds, a homestead exemption is where you can claim your primary residence as your homestead to get an exemption. This gives you a credit of $50,000 off of your assessed value, which means that your property taxes would be higher without it.
Recently, a new property appraiser for the city of Miami informed the public that if you are a person who rents out your home on AirBnB, you could be creating homestead fraud. Under the homestead act, you can not rent out your house for more than 30 days for 2 years, and if you are doing it for more than 30 days, you should not be declaring homestead exemption. The penalties, if you are caught doing this, would result in you possibly losing your homestead exemption, plus a 50% penalty and 50% interest.
Since AirBNB is still fairly new, the government agencies haven't officially released a stance on this concern. There are folks within the government who would like to allow this; however, they would require the tenants to pay a lodging tax just like they would if they stayed in a hotel. Then, there are those that don't want to allow it because they feel that it would be disturbing the neighborhood. Regardless of what they decide, it is important that you know the laws and rules in your central Florida area to avoid complications that could result in severe penalties!
As always, we are here to help you! Please feel free to Contact Us, and I hope that I have helped you get real estate smart.
