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Noise, a blatant disregard for the rules, too many people, and a disruption to the ‘community feel’ is just a few of the many reasons why residents on family estates are against short term rentals.
But banning them outright is almost impossible. With property owners sneakily giving out access codes and advertising their properties online regardless it’s often hard to determine who’s staying temporarily on the estate, without overtly interrogating every new face that comes to the security gates.
Developers, estate managers, HOAs (home owners associations) and residents have come up with a myriad of alternative solutions to address the security issues and restore some harmony.
Some have been welcomed while others have resulted in disputes being battled out in courts or before the Community Scheme Ombud Service (CSOS).
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Here we look at the reasons why short-term rentals are so popular and consider the options available to developers and homeowners that are keen to rent.
Popularity of Airbnb
People don’t only do short term rentals because they’re on holiday. Sometimes these lets can be a good way to scope out a community. ‘They can assist greatly with facilitating dates of transfer and occupation and can also give potential buyers an opportunity to get a sense or “taste” of the area.
‘We’ve just sold to a buyer who came to us over a year ago and then opted to rent for a year to see if she liked the estate. She then came back a year later and bought the same home that she was previously interested in,’ explains Stephan Thomas, secure estate specialist for Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty in Cape Town’s Southern Suburbs.
Security and other issues
But, for most cases, short lets are used by holiday makers and can be a nuisance because not all estates are geared for the sudden influx of tourists.
Jeff Gilmour, president of the Association of Residential Communities, says: ‘The problem is not necessarily just the security. The real concern is having people there on a weekend basis where they do not know the rules and don’t take regard of them as well as the security.
‘You can increase security as much as you like but if you have 20 homes with eight people per home that could easily double the number of people living there over a weekend.’
Where it works
While Gilmour doesn’t support short term lets, he does concede that it has worked in instances where estates and developers have put some thought into it.
‘There are estates that are set up and established for purposes of weekend getaways specifically in holiday destinations such as in George, Mpumalanga, and Western Cape.
“As an example, there is an estate on the KZN south coast that has a rental office, and you have to go through that. Renters must sign the rules, give biometrics, and fill out forms before they can book an apartment for the weekend.
‘The rental office works perfectly and, to cover costs, owners put money into a rental pool from which they pay the HOA who manage that process. So, if it’s managed by a rental office, it is possible to make it work.’
Clamp down
But some estates have not made it so accommodating. In October, Balwin Properties, the developers of Blyde Riverwalk Estate, confirmed that short-term letting would likely be phased out.
It follows an ongoing row between homeowners who live permanently on the estate and those who let out their homes and allow their “loud” short term letters access to the beach and swimming pool.
In the interim, Balwin increased the fees for access of the lagoon from R100 to R250 a person. According to report, Balwin said: ‘We had people stealing access cards, bringing cooler boxes with booze and partying in the parking lot.’
Supporters of short-term rentals on the estate argue that Balwin is clamping down so that it could instead redirect short term letters to its hotel that it is building, but Balwin argued that it had not made any plans on a hotel yet and that it was still being considered.
Swallow estates
While short term lets are being phased out on some estates Gilmour added that homeowners still had the option to rent out for longer terms if they chose to do so.
He says: “In the Western Cape we have many swallow estates where owners only come in for six months of the year and they would find a tenant – not a guest – to rent out the other six months.
“That’s not too much of a problem. The advantage of having longer renters is that they get a feel for the rules, but that’s difficult for someone who’s just coming for a weekend holiday.”
