Code Compliance Set to Launch Crackdown on 2011 Short-Term Rental Law in Key Biscayne | Real Estate

Unfamiliar faces, excessive noise and, more importantly, unpaid business taxes are just some of the reasons Key Biscayne will begin tightening its long-standing regulations on short-term rental properties starting this month.

So why now?

“Over the years, we’ve had a steady stream of complaints from people living in neighboring properties and more noise complaints on those properties,” said Jeremy Calleros Gauger, director of building, zoning and planning. “Our laws have been in place since 2011. Now it’s time to enforce them.”

Every short-term rental in Key Biscayne must be registered as a business and have a Business Tax Receipt (BTR) from the Village. Owners must also adhere to a 15-day minimum rental policy.

Rental property owners, knowingly or unknowingly, list their rentals on online or social media sites such as Airbnb, Vrbo and the like, thereby circumventing regulations and paying business taxes to the village and county governments.

“But how can I prove that, other than going to Airbnb (to check each rental)? And by the way, they don’t give you the exact address on those sites until you book,” Calleros Gauger said. “It was very difficult to enforce.”

However, the Village has invested in special software that tracks these rentals.

“They search the properties (specifically for addresses and length of lease), create a case and can forward it to us,” Calleros Gauger said. “Then we issue warnings.”

Beginning September 16, Village Code Enforcement Officers will begin issuing warnings to all properties that are not in compliance with the updated enforcement measures outlined in Village Code Section 7-31. – Vacation Rentals.

After October 14, properties that continue to violate the ordinance will be subject to a violation notice, which includes a $250 fine.

How many properties are rented at any one time in Key Biscayne?

“We think there are more than a few hundred listings at any given time,” said Calleros Gauger, who believes the numbers are “probably stable” even with the usual number of seasonal rentals.

“We don’t have years of data yet; we started this (new software) about three, four months ago and it also needs calibration (to collect data for analysis),” he said.

Similar issues related to apartment rentals are usually regulated by apartment owners’ associations, at least with regard to the minimum stay period.

“But who will know if it’s aunts and uncles moving in and staying for a while, or if they’re renters?” Calleros Gauger asked. “That puts (housing communities) in an awkward position.”

By collecting information from these sites, the Village can provide assistance in other ways.

“We want to make sure that an Airbnb in a multifamily (condo) building has to pass a fire inspection,” Calleros Gauger said. “People (renting condos for short periods of time) don’t know how to get out, for example.”

The fee for filing a receipt for payment of business tax, including a fire inspection and certificate of occupancy, with the Municipal Office is $310.76 ($115.76 each year thereafter).

There is no maximum term for short-term rentals. Instead, these much longer rentals fall into the category of multi-year leases.

The Village’s new software constantly searches all types of rentals, including those on hotels.com, which tend to involve much shorter stays.

“People may not be aware of (our) rules and (they do not intend to) break the law,” Calleros Gauger said.

This way everyone stays up to date and the Municipality can collect the appropriate taxes.

“We’re going to be implementing this very slowly… normally if this was a new law there would be a debate for and against, either too long or too short, but we’re just starting to enforce an older law that we’ve had since 2011.”

The enforcement process is lengthy, requiring handwritten notices, “possibly multiple rounds of warnings,” and then a $250 fine. If noncompliance persists, the fines will increase by another $250 per day, and council members can increase that penalty. If the fines aren’t paid, the property owner could face a lien against their home.

When it came to noise complaints, the village police could only enforce the law against the tenants themselves.

“Landlords (probably) don’t know that the people they rent to are behaving badly,” Calleros Gauger said.

The village authorities will penalize violations of the Code against the property and its owner, and not against the persons renting the building.

“We don’t (necessarily) want to go out and (start issuing tickets). We just want them to comply, so we’re spreading the word,” Calleros Gauger said. “We’re just trying to prevent any headaches in our line of work.”

The village can enforce its own laws

Key Biscayne can enforce its rental regulations “because we got ahead of schedule,” while the state got ahead of other short-term rental regulations.

In 2011, the legislature passed a law prohibiting local governments from imposing any restrictions on vacation rentals. After significant opposition from local communities, the legislature changed the law in 2014 to allow local governments to address issues such as noise, trash and parking. It still prevented them from regulating the duration and frequency of short-term rentals, though Key Biscayne was “grandfathered,” according to Calleros Gauger.

Reports indicate a significant loss of taxpayers’ money.

Phoenix, Florida, reported earlier this year that the state would issue licenses for 26,733 vacation rental units in 2022.

But that was just state-licensed vacation rentals, according to a Florida TaxWatch report released earlier this year. The Tallahassee-based government watchdog and taxpayer research group found that unlicensed vacation rentals are nearly twice as large, with the total loss in registration fees from unlicensed vacation rentals ranging from $1.8 million to $6.9 million.

Calleros Gauger said the move toward short-term rentals also has “unintended consequences.”

“It reduces the number of units available and turns them into (essentially) hotel rooms without paying tax on them,” he said. “The really high turnover rate also has a negative impact on residents and it affects the availability of long-term rentals. We have significantly fewer units available for rent (such as apartments for rent for up to a year) because of (short-term) rentals.”

Country recipes in a nutshell

On Key Biscayne, vacation home rentals may be located within the village, provided the following restrictions are adhered to:

1. The vacation rental owner must obtain a business tax receipt pursuant to Article II, Chapter 25 of the Village Code (total cost is $310.76 including fire inspection and $115.76 in subsequent years).

2. The minimum rental period is 15 continuous days.

3. All leases or occupancy agreements must include a copy of these restrictions, must be in writing, and a copy must be provided to the Village or be available on site for the Village to review.

4. All uses, occupancies and other activities must comply with the Village’s land development regulations and other health, safety and welfare regulations within the applicable zoning area, including, but not limited to, all noise, nuisance and special events regulations now in force or as may be amended from time to time.

For more information about short-term rentals, contact the Code Enforcement Department at [email protected].

If you have questions about your business tax receipt, please contact the office at [email protected] or (305) 365-7572.