1. Why we are looking at Pocono Farms East
Pocono Farms East is a planned community in Coolbaugh Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania, governed by Pocono Farms East Association. Like most Poconos lake and resort communities, it has a property owners’ association that collects assessments and adopts rules—and, in many communities, rules about renting. Those rules are only as strong as the authority behind them in the recorded governing documents.
A real-estate brokerage’s community guide (PoconoVacationHomeSales, retrieved October 1, 2026) describes short-term rentals in Pocono Farms East as permitted. We have not verified this with the association, and limits on renting can come from the association, the township, or both.
2. Does Pocono Farms East charge short-term rental fees?
Pocono Farms East charges owners a Short-Term Rental (STR) yearly fee of $800.00, and a Long-Term Rental yearly fee of $250.00, under the association’s published fee schedule effective January 1, 2024.
| Charge | Amount (as stated by source) | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Short-Term Rental (STR) yearly fee Effective January 1, 2024 | $800.00 per year | Short-term rentals |
| Long-Term Rental (LTR) yearly fee Effective January 1, 2024 | $250.00 per year | Long-term rentals |
Source: Schedule of Fees: Rental and Tenant Fees (Pocono Farms East Association).
Fee information last checked October 1, 2026. Fee schedules change; tell us if yours is different.
Whether that charge is legally enforceable depends in part on the recorded governing documents. If you pay it because you rent, we will review the declaration and the charge for free.
Pocono Farms East Governing Documents
- Fee Schedule Schedule of Fees (effective January 1, 2024) Effective January 1, 2024. Source: Association website. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
Documents are listed for reference. We have not published an analysis of these provisions; the source documents control.
Have the Pocono Farms East Declaration or Covenants?
Send us the HOA name and tell us about the fee. We are happy to review the governing documents and evaluate the STR charge FOR FREE.
Don’t have them? Submit the HOA name anyway. Declarations are usually recorded with the county recorder of deeds, and the association’s resale packet or member portal often includes them.
3. Why the recorded declaration matters
A planned community declaration is treated as a contract between the association and its members. Rules and bylaws adopted later do not override it: under Pennsylvania’s Uniform Planned Community Act, if the declaration and the bylaws conflict, the declaration prevails (68 Pa.C.S. § 5203(c)).
In Chan, the Commonwealth Court held that a bylaw amendment regulating short-term rentals—including enrollment and annual fees—was void and unenforceable because “authorization for such regulation is not provided in the Declaration.” Whether the same is true at Pocono Farms East depends on what Pocono Farms East’s own declaration and amendments say. Some declarations do give associations authority over rentals; courts look at the specific language.
4. Short-term rentals and residential use
Associations sometimes argue that renting is a “commercial” use. In Ruffed Grouse Ridge, the Commonwealth Court held that renting a home to private parties—short-term or long-term—did not violate a covenant limiting use to “private residential purposes only,” so long as the renters used it for residential purposes. The court focused on how renters actually use the home, not on how long they stay. The result for any community still turns on its own covenant language.
5. What types of charges should Pocono Farms East owners send us?
- Annual STR permit fees — A yearly charge to be allowed to rent short-term.
- Annual rental assessments — An extra assessment billed only to owners who rent.
- Per-rental or per-stay charges — A charge every time a guest checks in.
- Renter-registration fees — Fees to register a tenant or rental with the association.
- Guest-registration charges — Charges tied to registering renters as guests.
- Mandatory STR amenity charges — Amenity, beach, or facility fees imposed because the home is rented.
- Rental inspection fees — Inspections required only of rented homes.
- Special security charges — Security fees billed to renting owners.
- Rental-processing fees — Administrative or “processing” charges for rentals.
- Badges, wristbands, or passes — Passes required only because a property is rented.
- Other rental-triggered fees — Anything you are charged because you rent short-term.
Listing a charge here is not a claim that Pocono Farms East imposes it, or that it is unlawful. The declaration controls the analysis.
Sources for this page
- Schedule of Fees: Rental and Tenant Fees — Pocono Farms East Association, effective January 1, 2024 (retrieved October 1, 2026). Association source.
- Short-term Rental Friendly Pocono Communities — PoconoVacationHomeSales (retrieved October 1, 2026). Secondary source.