It DOES qualify as a trade or business, this guy keeps meticulous records and time logs for all his rentals.   This appears like it qualifies for 179 treatment.

FS-2018-9, April 2018

Businesses can immediately expense more under the new law

A taxpayer may elect to expense the cost of any section 179 property and deduct it in the year the property is placed in service. The new law increased the maximum deduction from $500,000 to $1 million. It also increased the phase-out threshold from $2 million to $2.5 million. For taxable years beginning after 2018, these amounts of $1 million and $2.5 million will be adjusted for inflation.

The new law also expands the definition of section 179 property to allow the taxpayer to elect to include the following improvements made to nonresidential real property after the date when the property was first placed in service:

• Qualified improvement property, which means any improvement to a building’s interior. However, improvements do not qualify if they are attributable to:
  • the enlargement of the building,
  • any elevator or escalator or
  • the internal structural framework of the building.
• Roofs, HVAC, fire protection systems, alarm systems and security systems.

These changes apply to property placed in service in taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2017.