In a case that could have broad implications for residents who rent out their homes on Airbnb and other lodging networks, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments over a zoning board's decision to penalize a property owner for operating a single-family home as a short-term vacation rental.

Hamilton Township's zoning board appealed the Commonwealth Court's June 21 ruling in Slice of Life v. Hamilton Township Zoning Hearing Board that property owner Val Kleyman did not violate residential zoning codes in the Monroe County municipality by operating a short-term rental. The decision was reached by a split three-judge panel of Judges Mary Hannah Leavitt, Joseph Cosgrove and James Gardner Collins.

According to the court's order granting allocatur, the justices have agreed to decide a single question: “Whether the Commonwealth Court disregarded the binding precedent of this court, set forth in the case Albert v. Zoning Hearing Board of North Abington Township, 578 Pa. 439, 854 A.2d 491 (2004), by finding that the purely transient use of a property as part of a commercial short-term vacation rental business was a permitted use in a residential zoning district?”

In Slice of Life, the township argued that Kleyman's use of the house as a “transient lodging enterprise” was completely at odds with the single-family home residential district ordinance.

Cosgrove wrote in the court's majority opinion that the as-written language of the ordinance was ambiguous on whether such use of the home was permissible, and thus up for interpretation.

Kleyman and her company, Slice of Life LLC, “have proven that ambiguity exists in the language of the ordinance. Because of that ambiguity, we are required to interpret the language of the ordinance in favor of the landowner and against any implied extension of restrictions on the use of one's property,” Cosgrove said.

Despite this, the trial court held that Kleyman's use of the property as a short-term rental created public health and safety concern, specifically regarding the untested septic system on the property, upholding the ruling of the zoning board.

However, Cosgrove said the board offered only speculation on the possible harm that could befall the community because of the septic system or tenant conduct.

“The record identifies there was never a septic system problem or violation at the property. Regarding the actions of tenants and their guests at the property, the adjoining neighbor testified he witnessed improper and indecent conduct emanating from some guests,” Cosgrove said. “The adjoining neighbor also testified the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) were called in November 2013. However, when questioned as to what actions the PSP took in response to the calls around that time, the adjoining neighbor testified that '[t]he [PSP] felt that because the township had not, as yet, determined there to be a violation that they would prefer to attend to these issues subsequent to a[n enforcement notice] decision made by the township.'”

Kleyman is represented by William Higgs of Mountain Top.

“They took an awful long time to grant this,” Higgs said, adding that the case could be the first in the state to deal with short-term rentals of single-family residences.

He also added, “People have been renting houses at the Jersey Shore for a hundred years” without having to worry about zoning issues.

Marc Wolfe of Newman, Williams, Mishkin, Corveleyn, Wolfe & Fareri represents the township zoning board and did not return a call seeking comment.