Lake Serene Property Owners Association Inc. v. Esplin
Lamar County · MS · Supreme Court of Mississippi
Member win · rentals
What happened
Clyde Esplin listed his Lake Serene home on Airbnb for stays of one to thirty days. After notice letters, the association board amended bylaws to ban short-term rentals and pursued enforcement/fines. Esplin defended under covenants limiting lots to residential purposes and barring trade/business but not expressly banning short-term leases. The chancery court found his use residential, invalidated amended bylaws restricting rentals, and wiped related fines/assessments. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed (Mar. 10, 2022) as a matter of first impression on short-term rentals as residential use.
What the court (or agency) held
Short-term rentals through platforms such as Airbnb, VRBO, and HomeAway were residential uses under Lake Serene covenants that limited lots to residential purposes and barred trade/business but did not expressly prohibit short-term leasing. The Supreme Court of Mississippi affirmed that Esplin's use was residential, that amended bylaws restricting rentals were invalid, and that fines/assessments levied against him on that theory were properly invalidated.
Why this matters for members
Without express short-term rental bans in the covenants, "residential purposes" language may allow Airbnb-style stays. Bylaw amendments that conflict with covenant use rights (and related fines) can fall with the invalid restriction.
What the member did
Defended the covenant reading that tenants' residential use is allowed without a minimum term; counterclaimed to invalidate fines and the bylaw rental ban.
Questions for the board
- Do our recorded covenants expressly address short-term rentals, minimum stays, or leasing?
- If we amended only bylaws to ban short-term rentals, do the covenants support that ban?
- What fine/assessment authority did we cite against short-term rental owners?
Questions for a lawyer
- How does Lake Serene's residential-use holding apply to our covenant language?
- What vote and recording steps are required to add an express short-term rental covenant amendment in Mississippi?
- What remedies exist to challenge fines based on invalid bylaw rental bans?
Citation
Lake Serene Property Owners Association Inc. v. Esplin, 334 So. 3d 1139; 2020-CA-00689-SCT (Miss. 2022) (2022-03-10). Supreme Court of Mississippi. Outcome chip: member_win. Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/mississippi/supreme-court/2022/2020-ca-00689-sct.html
_General information, not legal advice. Outcomes turn on facts and current law._
General information, not legal advice. Outcomes turn on facts and current law.