Rental property bill passes Florida Senate with registration fine

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida legislation revising short term rental property laws passed the Senate floor on Thursday.

Sen. Nick DiCeglie, R-St. Petersburg, sponsored the bill, SB 280, and Rep. Phillip Griffits, R-Panama City Beach, sponsored the House version, HB 1537.

The senator explained that the legislation implements various requirements and regulations on rental properties in regard to how many people are able to stay in the property at a given time.

DiCeglie’s bill passed the floor 27-13, with two amendments relating to the fines and fees that property owners would need to pay if they continuously violate the new requirements and regulations.

“We have a state interest to lay out a uniform set of regulations so that there’s some predictability,” DiCeglie said. “There’s predictability for my neighbors, there’s predictability for the property owners.”

“Yes, I fully recognize that every jurisdiction is unique and different, but I also recognize that when some of these local governments are pushing that envelope and violating these property rights, I have an issue with that,” he said.

Democratic members questioned how the new regulations and requirements would be enforceable, particularly relating to how many people are allowed to stay in each bedroom within a property.

DiCeglie responded, explaining how rental properties would now only be able to advertise for up to the legal amount of the renters possible based on the size of the property. Because of the potential fines attached to allowing more renters, owners would be disincentivized to violate the law.

Other members had concerns with the wording in the bill that allowed property owners up to 15 days to “cure” a violation made by the renters. Senators argued that since most short term rental properties are only booked for no more then four days on average, owners and renters would be able to get away without being fined or punished.

Sen. Jason Pizzo, D-Hollywood, criticized the new regulations, expressing his disapproval for the legislation.

Pizzo also referenced legislation passed and signed into law during a previous session that requires property owners to give their names when reporting an issue at the rental property that they own.

“I don’t think it’s fair and right that if I’m in room 606, I can call down to the front desk and security will come up and take care of it… I don’t think it’s right that if I do that for my home, I put my life in jeopardy by doing that,” he argued.

“The best thing for us to do is no bill,” he said. “[…] But I will tell this body, that if somebody in my district is harmed by an AirBnB renter, I’m going to blame the people that voted for this bill.”

Sen. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, defended the bill and the reasoning behind the state overseeing regulations for the property.

He argued that many property owners who don’t live in the communities where they own some of their rental properties do not get a voice in the local laws and regulations that govern their properties.

“We’ve got to do something that strikes balance between the folks that own properties, the people that own them for investment purposes or family reasons, or they need to rent those properties out to continue to hold them in the family,” Boyd said.

“I think you’ve done a good job,” he said. “It’s complicated. Is it perfect? No, as you’ve just said. But I think you’ve done a really good job at trying to strike that balance.”