Vacation rentals get new scrutiny
Cities out to identify owners of unregistered properties
Just a few years after South Florida’s beachside cities began cracking down on party houses, some communities say they’re getting closer to having some peace — with fewer complaints of unruly crowds, trash and loud music. Yes, they’re fed up. But they’re fighting back. Thousands of vacation-home rentals in South Florida are being advertised online. So a software company is helping cities scour those sites to figure out which homes aren’t registered with local governments. The goal: to get them all registered and hold someone accountable if a party veers out of control.
At least 17 of the websites feature Deerfield Beach properties, so the city’s hiring the company is a big help, said Eric Power, Deerfield Beach’s administration director. “We think it’s virtually impossible for [city] staff to do it on their own,” Power said.
At least three other cities are taking the same approach: Pompano Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood.
Hollywood last spring started using software from the same San Francisco-based company, Host Compliance. With its enforcement help, the number of registrants in the city rose from 26 to 90 registered properties, said Lorie Mertens-Black, Hollywood’s chief civic affairs officer.
Joe Miller, a Deerfield Beach commissioner who has had four vacation rentals open up on his block, said he’s hoping to see improvement.
The way it is, he said, “it can certainly be a big inconvenience with all the cars parking on the street, leaving the trash out for days.”
Cities say the partyhouse problem has been spurred by homeowners looking to make extra cash by marketing their properties on websites such as Airbnb, VRBO and HomeAway. One listing, for example, features a six-bedroom, 4-1⁄2-bath house on Deerfield Beach’s shore. The cost: $969 a night.
Cities say they are trying to keep neighborhoods from becoming more like tourist districts, even though state law prohibits cities from banning vacation rentals outright.
A short-term rental, in most cities, is defined as a neighborhood property that is available for rent for less than 30 days three or more times a year.
By cities’ requiring short-term rentals to be registered, owners must provide a 24-hour contact who will be held responsible for making sure tenants follow the regulations on noise, the number of overnight guests, trash removal and parking. If they don’t register or comply, they’ll face code enforcement fines.
Similar rules have been enacted over the last two years and as recently as November in Dania Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Hallandale Beach, Hillsboro Beach, Hollywood, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Lighthouse Point and Wilton Manors.
Deerfield Beach homeowners wishing to rent properties short-term will have until October to register before facing penalties. In Pompano Beach, they have until June.
Deerfield estimates there are about 350 shortterm rental properties in the city. Fort Lauderdale a year ago signed on with the software company; 342 homes are on its registry. Some city commissioners have estimated there are thousands of homes that still need to be signed up.
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler believes the approach of hiring a company is working, in addition to the city’s efforts. He attributed the decrease in complaints to homeowners being held accountable for the actions of the renters, he said.
“We have someone to contact when the party gets out of control,” Seiler said.
Lighthouse Point also has seen a drop in neighborhood complaints. Mayor Glenn Troast credits the decrease to the city’s shortterm rental registry, approved two years ago. Fifteen homes in Lighthouse Point have registered as short-term rentals, with another four applications pending and another seven properties referred to code enforcement for special attention and possible fines.
“It’s helped tremendously,” Troast said.
Still, not everyone is fan of the cities’ efforts.
Bram Portnoy, who owns vacation rentals in Hollywood, said he thinks cities have gone too far with registries, requiring inspections and drawings of interiors. He said, however, that he has complied with the requirements. But he predicts that the state will try to protect its tourism dollars and possibly make these city registries illegal.
“This is too important to our state economy,” he said.