Hinsdale Charges 'Illegal Home Occupation'

HINSDALE, IL – Last summer, Hinsdale charged a homeowner with "illegal home occupation" for having a short-term rental in a residential area.

But no provision in the village code bans short-term rentals. A DuPage County judge threw out the charge.

In July, the village cited a household in the 800 block of West Eighth Street. The ticket said the homeowner was running an Airbnb, which the village claimed was an illegal occupation. It cited a specific code number.

According to the village code, a "home occupation" is a business, profession, occupation or trade that supports the full-time occupant of a house or is incidental to the use of a residence.

The code says nothing about renting a home, let alone short-term rentals, being illegal. Home rentals are a customary residential use across the country.

In September, a DuPage County judge said the village's ordinance did not apply to rentals that lasted more than 30 days. The judge advised the village to draft specific language regulating short-term rentals.

Now, the village is considering only allowing rentals that are at least six months. That would be far longer than in most towns. For instance, Darien's threshold is a month.

Village officials have not returned repeated messages for comment from Patch.

The Eighth Street homeowner may be the only one targeted with a charge. But, like the Eighth Street owner, two others – one in the 500 block of Highland Road and the other in the 600 block of West Hinsdale Avenue – received warning letters in January 2023.

They were threatened with citations for an "illegal home occupation" if they didn't cease rentals within a month.

Around the time of the warning letters, Rob McGinnis, the village's community development director, was certain about the village's rules in an email to top village officials: "Our code does not permit short-term rentals."

In an interview with Patch, Brittany Hill, who is part of the family that owns the Eighth Street house, said all the rentals since January 2023, when the village first expressed concern, have been longer than a month. Most of them before that were as well, she said.

In one instance, a woman and her two sons stayed in the house while their new townhome in Clarendon Hills was being finished. A next-door neighbor wrote a notarized letter saying the Hills have been "good stewards" of the property.

"It's an interesting situation because we've been very proactive and careful and attentive and very, very hands-on with all of our tenants, the village and our neighbors," Hill said.

During a Village Board meeting in January, Ashley Hill, Brittany Hill's sister, was one of a few speakers to address trustees on the proposal for banning short-term rentals that are less than six months. She asked the board to make exceptions when renters are between home closings and during renovations and emergency repairs.

"Your draft is a good starting point, but we are looking for some flexibility from the village," Hill said.

The Hinsdale Plan Commission plans a hearing on the short-term rental ban at 6 p.m. March 13 at Village Hall.

Hinsdale's argument against rentals is similar to the one it used in 2020 against a sober house for men suffering from drug addictions.

Because the men were renters, the village said the house violated zoning as a commercial operation.

But Hinsdale dropped that argument after the U.S. Justice Department prepared to sue, alleging fair housing violations. The village continued with its argument that the house violated its rule banning more than three unrelated people in a house.

Hinsdale later settled with the federal government, with Village President Tom Cauley expressing unhappiness over the outcome.