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| © Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY People enjoy the sun and sand at Lori Wilson Park in Cocoa Beach Saturday, May 2, 2020 after the park reopened to visitors.Mandatory Credit: Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK |
By Tyler Vazquez, Florida Today
Close to the beach and airport. A private room with pool access. A "charming private retreat," a "cozy tropical oasis" and a "tropical hideaway" are all available to rent on Airbnb despite state and local regulations severely limiting short-term rentals.
A quick search on the company’s website yields no fewer than 300 places to stay in Brevard County for the upcoming weekend, despite strong restrictions on lodgings meant to slow the spread of coronavirus.
Airbnb company officials said in a statement that the company has been working "with our hosts and guests to provide guidance on applicable local and statewide orders."
“Airbnb has worked with local governments in real time to both address these orders and ensure short-term and longer-term rentals are an available resource for frontline responders and those sheltering in place during this crisis," the email said.
Despite the stated commitment to working within coronavirus restrictions, there has been no shortage of rental properties on the company's website.
These types of bans on short-term rentals can be difficult to enforce, according to local government officials.
“They can be under the radar,” said Morris Richardson, city attorney for West Melbourne. “We have only dealt with them as citizen concerns are reported to us.”
The city has received a handful of complaints about short-term rentals, Richardson said. No tickets have been written or arrests have been made as police officers have focused on educating AirBnB owners on the executive order.
Despite both state and local restrictions, there were still AirBnBs for rent in West Melbourne this week, many available for fewer than seven days in violation of long-standing local codes.
“We are just enforcing the governor’s orders. It’s mandatory. We’re doing our duty there,” said Richardson.
“Residents here are concerned about people coming from places that have significant COVID-19 cases,” he said.
Beachside cities with a heavy tourist presence have been working to regulate short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods for years.
"While allowed under the state law, they’re a real problem for cities because single family neighborhoods are negatively impacted by these rentals," Cocoa Beach City Manager James McKnight said.
"Oftentimes they become party houses with lots of noise and parking" in a residential neighborhood, he said.
Indian Harbour Beach has faced similar issues, according to City Manager Mark Ryan, who says many owners don't properly register their properties with the city in compliance with local codes.
In one case, Ryan said, a group of out of town police officers were climbing onto a second-floor balcony and doing flips into a pool before being asked to leave.
At one point last year, he said, a set of renters shot an adult film on a short-term rental property.
This past two months have seen a different set of concerns around enforcement, according to local officials like Ryan and McKnight. Now residents are upset when they see New York or New Jersey license plates in the driveway next door.
But because the ban on short-term rentals was issued by the state government, local governments have been deferring to the state on enforcement, referring complaints to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
Violating the executive order can get offenders up to 60 days in jail, according to state statutes. The agency did not respond to records request on how many enforcement actions have been taken in Brevard County under the executive order.
The executive order banning short-term rentals hasn’t been without detractors. An association of owners recently issued an open letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis on the decision to allow hotels to operate and not residential rentals.
The letter that accompanied a change.org petition started by the Florida Vacation Rental Management Association asks DeSantis to reexamine his reopening plans and to include short-term rentals.
“Hotels and motels in the state have been allowed to operate during the entire COVID-19 lockdown even though they arguably pose a greater risk to the spread of the virus than a single unit short term rental due to spaces where hundreds of people pass through,” the petition says.
"It is our hope that Governor Ron DeSantis will re-examine the ban on short term vacation rentals and implement in its place an effective plan that both protects our communities and allows reasonable utilization of short-term rentals in Florida."
Read more at Florida Today
Close to the beach and airport. A private room with pool access. A "charming private retreat," a "cozy tropical oasis" and a "tropical hideaway" are all available to rent on Airbnb despite state and local regulations severely limiting short-term rentals.
A quick search on the company’s website yields no fewer than 300 places to stay in Brevard County for the upcoming weekend, despite strong restrictions on lodgings meant to slow the spread of coronavirus.
Airbnb company officials said in a statement that the company has been working "with our hosts and guests to provide guidance on applicable local and statewide orders."
“Airbnb has worked with local governments in real time to both address these orders and ensure short-term and longer-term rentals are an available resource for frontline responders and those sheltering in place during this crisis," the email said.
Despite the stated commitment to working within coronavirus restrictions, there has been no shortage of rental properties on the company's website.
These types of bans on short-term rentals can be difficult to enforce, according to local government officials.
“They can be under the radar,” said Morris Richardson, city attorney for West Melbourne. “We have only dealt with them as citizen concerns are reported to us.”
The city has received a handful of complaints about short-term rentals, Richardson said. No tickets have been written or arrests have been made as police officers have focused on educating AirBnB owners on the executive order.
Despite both state and local restrictions, there were still AirBnBs for rent in West Melbourne this week, many available for fewer than seven days in violation of long-standing local codes.
“We are just enforcing the governor’s orders. It’s mandatory. We’re doing our duty there,” said Richardson.
“Residents here are concerned about people coming from places that have significant COVID-19 cases,” he said.
Beachside cities with a heavy tourist presence have been working to regulate short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods for years.
"While allowed under the state law, they’re a real problem for cities because single family neighborhoods are negatively impacted by these rentals," Cocoa Beach City Manager James McKnight said.
"Oftentimes they become party houses with lots of noise and parking" in a residential neighborhood, he said.
Indian Harbour Beach has faced similar issues, according to City Manager Mark Ryan, who says many owners don't properly register their properties with the city in compliance with local codes.
In one case, Ryan said, a group of out of town police officers were climbing onto a second-floor balcony and doing flips into a pool before being asked to leave.
At one point last year, he said, a set of renters shot an adult film on a short-term rental property.
This past two months have seen a different set of concerns around enforcement, according to local officials like Ryan and McKnight. Now residents are upset when they see New York or New Jersey license plates in the driveway next door.
But because the ban on short-term rentals was issued by the state government, local governments have been deferring to the state on enforcement, referring complaints to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
Violating the executive order can get offenders up to 60 days in jail, according to state statutes. The agency did not respond to records request on how many enforcement actions have been taken in Brevard County under the executive order.
The executive order banning short-term rentals hasn’t been without detractors. An association of owners recently issued an open letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis on the decision to allow hotels to operate and not residential rentals.
The letter that accompanied a change.org petition started by the Florida Vacation Rental Management Association asks DeSantis to reexamine his reopening plans and to include short-term rentals.
“Hotels and motels in the state have been allowed to operate during the entire COVID-19 lockdown even though they arguably pose a greater risk to the spread of the virus than a single unit short term rental due to spaces where hundreds of people pass through,” the petition says.
"It is our hope that Governor Ron DeSantis will re-examine the ban on short term vacation rentals and implement in its place an effective plan that both protects our communities and allows reasonable utilization of short-term rentals in Florida."
Read more at Florida Today
