Short Term Rentals Spark Lawsuit in Bend Ore.

According to the Bend Bulletin, two neighbors in Bend Ore. are headed to court over a permitted short-term rental that may violate community covenants and restrictions. “There is a constant coming and going at this house,” said Connie Axelrod, the neighbor who filed suit. “The streets are narrow in some places. A vacation rental is against the (covenants conditions and restrictions) and they should respect what they are.”

Axelrod and Jensen are asking the court to force the Ecksteins to stop using her property as a vacation rental. The property is among 881 short-term rentals licensed in the city of Bend.

Going through the courts is often a last resort for homeowners, said Kevin Harker, the attorney who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Axelrod. It is a way to enforce the covenants, because the city doesn’t, Harker said. Today he has about 20 cases pending in Washington and Oregon in which he represents owners trying to enforce similar deed restrictions.

Under the deed restrictions for Canal Crossing, either a homeowner or the community association, through its architectural review committee, can bring action against a neighbor for violations, Harker said. Rentals of less than 30 days are prohibited under the conditions for all owners of the neighborhood, according to the covenants. The rules of the community are self-enforced, Harker said.