The Commonwealth Court reversed and found that because the zoning ordinance did not define the term “transient lodging,” the ordinance had to be interpreted in favor of the owner and against any restriction on the use of his property. The Zoning Hearing Board and trial court held that the home was being used for a short-term transient lodging rental business, in violation of the zoning ordinance. The owner testified that he did not live at the Poconos home he advertised it online for rental and it was rented out approximately twenty-five weekends per year. The Township issued an enforcement notice to Slice of Life, based on the owner’s use of the home “as Hotel and/or other types of transient lodging.” The home is located in the Township’s Zoning District A, which allows “single family detached dwellings” as a permitted use. Hamilton Township Zoning Hearing Board, the Court was required to determine whether the exclusive use of a home as a short-term rental in a residential zoning district was permitted as a Single Family Residential use. Homesharing platforms operate to the benefit of travelers and homeowners, but the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held in a new opinion that such “purely transient use” of a single family home in a residential zoning district was in violation of a local zoning ordinance. AirBnb, HomeAway and other online homesharing platforms continue to rise in popularity as a unique method for tourists to “live like a local” for a few days’ time in a new city.
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