Short-term rentals and residential use restrictions

We see continued disagreement among the states on the question of whether short-term rentals violate residential use restrictions in covenants or zoning law. Some courts say that short-term rentals are consistent with residential or single-family use restrictions. See, e.g., Pandharipande v. FSD Corp., 679 S.W.3d 610 (Tenn. 2023); Lake Serene Prop. Owners Ass’n Inc. v. Esplin, 334 So.3d 1139 (Miss. 2022); Wilson v. Maynard, 961 N.W.2d 596, 2021 SD 37 (S.D. 2021). But other courts deem short-term rentals to be a trade or business and presumptively not a residential use. See, e.g., Morgan v. Townsend, 302 A.3d 30, 2023 ME 62 (Me. 2023). See also Dixon v. City of Auburn, 2023 WL 7096600 (Ala. 2023) (short-term rentals are inconsistent with zoning limitation to single-family detached dwelling units”).