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State Guide · Tennessee

Tennessee HOA Rental Compliance: Express Covenants, the Vested-Right Carve-Out, and Nashville's STR Affidavit

Tennessee has no comprehensive HOA statute. Condominiums created after January 1, 2009 run under the Condominium Act of 2008; older condominiums—and some older townhome planned developments—run largely under the Horizontal Property Act, while other planned communities run on their recorded covenants plus a handful of targeted statutes. The courts pull in two directions at once: amendments that add rental restrictions generally bind owners who bought earlier, but vague use language does not reach short-term rentals. After Pandharipande v. FSD Corp. (Tenn. 2023), an association that wants rental limits needs express, recorded language—and a dated record of who owned what when each amendment passed.

Last reviewed October 7, 2026. General information, not legal advice—confirm current statutory text with your association's attorney.

The statutes that create tracking duties

Each of these laws requires your association to be able to prove something. That's a record-keeping obligation, whether or not anyone calls it that.

Hughes v. New Life Dev. Corp., 387 S.W.3d 453 (Tenn. 2012); Pandharipande v. FSD Corp. (Tenn. 2023); Lone Mountain Shores Owners Ass'n v. Bennafield (Tenn. Ct. App. 2025)

Express language decides—"residential use" doesn't reach short-term rentals

A buyer takes title subject not only to the declaration's covenants but to its amendment provisions, and amendments that are uniform in application and adopted by the declaration's own procedure are reviewed principally for whether they are arbitrary and capricious. When the members adopt an amendment, it is presumed valid and the challenger carries the burden (Pandharipande, applying Hughes). Applying similar principles under the Horizontal Property Act, the Court of Appeals upheld a leasing ban adopted by owners of at least 67% of the townhomes against an owner who bought before it (The Preserve at Forrest Crossing v. DeVaughn, 2013). But in Pandharipande the Tennessee Supreme Court held that a "residential and no other purposes" covenant does not clearly prohibit short-term rentals—at best it is ambiguous, and ambiguity favors the owner—while upholding a later amendment requiring a minimum of thirty consecutive days. In Lone Mountain Shores (2025), covenants limiting use to "single family residential purposes only, and no commercial use" did not bar short-term rentals either, even though they excluded hotel-type and other commercial rental services.

What your association must track:

  • The declaration's amendment clause—Pandharipande relied on language allowing amendments that impose additional restrictions
  • The vote record and recorded instrument behind every leasing or minimum-term amendment
  • Express short-term rental language stated in days, since generic residential-use and no-commercial-use clauses don't reach STRs
  • Per-owner acquisition dates against amendment recording dates, and the exact terms of any grandfather clause—Pandharipande read one narrowly, ending at lease expiration or sale

T.C.A. §§ 66-27-701 to -705 (2021 Pub. Ch. 151, as amended 2024); T.C.A. §§ 66-27-317, -403(b) (Condominium Act of 2008)

Two statutory limits on rental amendments: the long-term vested right and condo consent

In planned communities, when a declaration is amended on or after May 1, 2021 to prohibit or "effectively prohibit" long-term rentals—leases of 180 or more consecutive days—of detached single-family homes, each current owner keeps a vested right to rent until the property is transferred. Transfers to a statutorily defined relative, an heir, or a business entity in which the owner holds an ownership interest aren't "transfers" under § 66-27-701; whether the recipient then keeps the right is a question to confirm with your HOA attorney. The right doesn't cover condos, townhomes that share a roofline, or rentals under 180 days, and owners who buy afterward are bound. Members may demand a seven-element record of the vote on any such amendment, and business-entity owners must notify the association of contact changes and transfers within 30 business days. For condominiums created after January 1, 2009 (or that opted into the 2008 Act), declaration amendments need 67% of the votes, take effect only on recording, can be challenged for only one year, may not be adopted by the board alone—and may not "prohibit the leasing of any unit" without the consent of all affected owners. We found no Tennessee decision on whether a rental cap or waiting list counts as prohibiting or effectively prohibiting leasing, and Part 7 defines "prohibit" to include a ban that is temporary; have your HOA attorney review any cap before adopting it.

What your association must track:

  • Each home's type—detached, shared-roofline townhome, or condo unit—and each rental amendment's enactment date against May 1, 2021
  • Which owners hold a vested long-term rental right, and every transfer that ends it
  • For long-term-rental bans adopted on or after May 1, 2021: the seven-element vote record § 66-27-702 lets members demand—ballot language, proof of mailing, members present, total members, total votes, quorum, final count
  • For condos created after January 1, 2009: the consent of affected owners behind any amendment that bars leasing
  • Contact-change and transfer notices from LLC and other business-entity owners

T.C.A. §§ 66-27-402(a)(11), 66-27-415, 66-27-706; T.C.A. §§ 13-7-603, 13-7-605 (Short-Term Rental Unit Act)

Fines, liens, and a state STR law that defers to your documents

Condominium associations may levy reasonable fines only after notice and an opportunity to be heard, subject to the declaration; the rule also reaches pre-2009 condominiums for events after January 1, 2009, without overriding their existing documents. Unless the declaration says otherwise, fines are enforceable as assessments and secured by a lien that can be foreclosed by judicial action, or by power of sale if the declaration provides; the prevailing party in a lien action recovers reasonable attorney's fees, and the lien is extinguished unless enforcement begins within six years. Generally, planned communities have only the fine and lien powers their recorded covenants grant—confirm with your HOA attorney—and no homeowners' association may foreclose over an unpaid special assessment for a nonessential amenity. The Short-Term Rental Unit Act grandfathers existing short-term rentals against new local ordinances until a sale or transfer, thirty continuous months without short-term rental use, or repeated violations, but states plainly that nothing in it prohibits a condominium or homeowners association from restricting short-term rentals as its governing documents provide.

What your association must track:

  • A dated notice-and-hearing file behind every condo fine
  • Lien recording and the six-year enforcement window for unpaid fines and assessments
  • For planned communities: the covenant text that grants each fine and lien power you use
  • Short-term rentals operating under a local permit or grandfather status that your covenants still prohibit

The test: could your board produce this tomorrow?

If a dispute, an audit, or a new manager asked for the following, a compliant Tennessee association should be able to hand it over without a scramble:

The recorded declaration, its amendment clause, and the vote record and recorded instrument behind every leasing restriction—for long-term-rental bans adopted on or after May 1, 2021, members can demand the vote record under § 66-27-702
Per-owner acquisition and transfer dates against each amendment's recording date, including every owner holding a § 66-27-703 vested right
A dated notice-and-hearing file for every condo fine, and the covenant authority behind every planned-community fine
The community's current rental picture, verified and dated, including short-term rentals permitted locally but restricted by your documents
From January 1, 2027: proof of the blanket fidelity bond Public Chapter 731 requires

Watch this space

Public Chapter 731 (2026) takes effect January 1, 2027: every association that collects assessments—condominium or HOA—must carry a blanket fidelity bond equal to its reserve balances plus one-quarter of annual assessment income, with a $10,000 minimum. Proposed Tennessee Homeowners' Association Acts died in committee in 2022 (HB2209) and were withdrawn in 2024 (SB2000), and the 2024 HOMES Act (HB2850/SB2281), which would have limited local short-term rental rules, did not advance. A bill voiding HOA and condominium restrictions on licensed family and group child-care homes (HB2306/SB2282) was deferred in a House subcommittee to the January 2027 calendar; because the current General Assembly ends in 2026, it would need to be refiled in 2027—watch for it.

Tennessee HOA rental restrictions: common questions

Short answers drawn from the statutes above. General information, not legal advice.

Can an HOA restrict rentals in Tennessee?
Yes—through its governing documents. Amendments adopted by the declaration's own procedure bind owners who bought earlier unless they are arbitrary and capricious (Hughes v. New Life, 2012; The Preserve at Forrest Crossing, 2013). Two statutory limits apply: owners of detached single-family homes keep a vested right to long-term rentals (180+ days) when an amendment enacted on or after May 1, 2021 prohibits them, until they transfer the property (§ 66-27-703); and in condominiums created after January 1, 2009 (or that opted into the 2008 Act), no amendment may prohibit leasing a unit without the consent of all affected owners (§ 66-27-317(d)).
Does a "residential use only" covenant ban short-term rentals in Tennessee?
Usually not. In Pandharipande v. FSD Corp. (2023), the Tennessee Supreme Court held that a "residential and no other purposes" covenant does not clearly prohibit short-term rentals, and in Lone Mountain Shores (2025) covenants limited to "single family residential purposes only, and no commercial use" did not bar them either. Express language works: Pandharipande upheld a later amendment requiring a minimum of thirty consecutive days.
Can a Tennessee HOA stop a short-term rental that has a Nashville permit?
Yes, if its governing documents expressly restrict short-term rentals. A Metro permit doesn't override them: the state Short-Term Rental Unit Act says nothing in it prohibits a condominium or homeowners association from restricting short-term rentals as its governing documents provide (§ 13-7-605), Metro Nashville requires every permit applicant to swear the rental would not violate any HOA or condominium restriction, and Metro's FAQ says association rules can be more restrictive than Metro's.
What changes for Tennessee associations on January 1, 2027?
Public Chapter 731 takes effect: every association that collects assessments, condominium or HOA, must carry a blanket fidelity bond equal to its reserve balances plus one-quarter of annual assessment income, with a minimum of $10,000.

Built for Tennessee associations

Every record above, kept automatically

RentTrac360 tracks rental status, grandfathering, caps, and enforcement records continuously—onboard in about 15 minutes, and the platform keeps the file current from then on.

Nashville is one of the most regulated short-term rental markets in the country. Every Metro Nashville STR permit application and renewal must include a sworn statement that the rental would not violate any homeowners association, condominium, or covenant restriction (Metro Code § 6.28.030), and Metro's own FAQ says association rules can be more restrictive than Metro's. New non-owner-occupied permits are issued only in listed mixed-use, office, commercial, and downtown districts—not in residential zones such as AR2a, R, RS, or RM—and permits don't survive a change of ownership. In Chattanooga, absentee rentals are limited to mixed-use and commercial zones that allow hotels, owner-occupied homestays to residential zones within an STR overlay district (and certain mixed-use and commercial zones), and short-term rentals to 25% of the units in a multi-unit development—and the city code states it does not supersede HOA covenants (§ 38-93). Managing communities in Georgia too? See our Georgia guide.

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