Plaintiff filed complaint against her Condominium Association and its acting President who prohibited her from operating her condominium unit as a short-term rental on Airbnb, on the basis that the Condominium Declarations barred short-term rentals. Plaintiff granted her guests a mere license to use her unit, not a lease. The restrictive covenant in section 7 of the Declarations, which must be strictly construed, does not bar short-term licensing of the units. City of Chicago imposes regulations on short-term rentals similar to those imposed upon a hotel, and imposes taxes on and requires that financial records must be kept for short-term rentals. This is evidence that Plaintiff's short-term rentals constitutes a "business" for purposes of section 11(b) of the Declarations. The more general prohibition in section 11(b) controls to prohibit Plaintiff's short-term Airbnb rental of her unit. (McBRIDE and ELLIS, concurring.)
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Condominiums