Detroit begins enforcing its new Airbnb ban
Detroit authorities are turning up the heat on Airbnb hosts, now that the city's new zoning rules are in effect. According to Detroit Metro Times , the local government has begun sending cease and desist letters to owners, particularly those renting out units in the R1 and R2 (single- and double-family properties) residential zones. Detroit approved an update to the city's zoning code in November, which makes it illegal to rent out homes and rooms in those residential zones, unless it's a secondary property. Metro Times says a lot of officials thought the update was just minor rewrite to "clean up ordinance language." Turns out there's a part targeting Airbnb hosts -- it doesn't address rentals other than those that accept paid overnight guests -- hidden within 200 pages of text. That part reads: "Use of a dwelling to accommodate paid overnight guests is prohibited as a home occupation; notwithstanding this regulation, public accommodations, in...