TALLAHASSEE – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has extended a previously issued executive order that prohibits short-term vacation rental operations statewide.
On Friday, DeSantis issued and signed Executive Order (EO) 20-103.
“I hereby extend Executive Order 20-87 until April 30, unless extended by subsequent order,” EO 20-103 says.
In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, DeSantis originally set forth his temporary vacation rental prohibitions and restrictions in EO 20-87 – an order issued on Friday, March 27 and enacted on Saturday, March 28.
“I hereby order all parties engaged in rental of vacation rental properties to suspend vacation rental operations. Vacation rentals are prohibited from making new reservations or bookings and shall not accept new guests for check-in for the duration of this order,” EO 20-87 said.
The governor’s directive did not apply to hotels, motels, inns, resorts, non-transient public lodging establishments, timeshares or long-term rentals of more than 30 days.
“DBPR shall revoke the vacation rental license of any party that violates this order or otherwise advertises vacation rental opportunities during the duration of this order; and DBPR shall alert the state authorities to evidence of violations or attempts to violate this order,” EO 20-87 said.
As a result of Friday’s extension order, the expiration date for DeSantis’ vacation rental prohibitions now coincides with the expiration of DeSantis’ essential services order, EO 20-91 – an order some refer to as a ‘stay-at-home’ order.
As of 5 p.m. Saturday, EO 20-103 was not yet posted at the governor’s website and the governor’s website made no mention of EO 20-87 being extended. The most recent executive order posted at the governor’s website was EO 20-102 on Thursday, April 9.
Local concerns
DeSantis’ delay in extending his vacation rental order caused trepidation for local officials who felt the need to discuss and/or enact local vacation rental-related emergency orders of their own.
On Thursday, Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth issued Emergency Directive 20-5, a directive pertaining to “prohibitions on residential rental properties.”
At Thursday evening’s Anna Maria City Commission meeting, it was noted DeSantis had not yet extended EO 20-87. This prompted discussion as to what, if anything, the city might need to do if DeSantis did not extend his order.
On Tuesday, March 24, Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy issued an emergency order that temporarily prohibits new reservations for vacation rental stays of less than 30 days in Anna Maria.
“There shall be no new reservations for an arrival date of March 26 through June 30 of less than 30 days. Reservations with an arrival date on or subsequent to July 1 are excluded from this order,” Murphy’s order said.
Murphy issued his local order three days before DeSantis issued his statewide order.
During Thursday’s commission meeting, Murphy said the rationale behind his local order was to reduce the churn of people coming in and out of Anna Maria on a weekly basis, as part of the city’s efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19.
During Friday afternoon’s emergency Manatee County Commission meeting, county commissioners voted 7-0 in favor of sending DeSantis a letter requesting that he extend his vacation rental order until April 30.
When presenting the request, County Administrator Cheri Coryea said DeSantis had not yet extended his vacation rental order. It was noted the letter was requested and suggested by the Island city mayors and other city officials during Wednesday’s emergency operations policy group meeting.
Lack of notice
When contacted Saturday afternoon, Duncan Real Estate owner Darcie Duncan said she had not been informed that DeSantis extended his vacation rental order.
“We have not been informed of the governor’s extension, and I just checked. We have had nothing,” Duncan said.
Duncan was asked if she was notified when DeSantis issued his original vacation rental order on March 27.
“We didn’t get anything from the governor’s office. I found out through a news outlet,” she said.
Duncan said her company was not expecting any new short-term rental arrivals this week.
“We’re not encouraging anyone to come. We tried to deter everybody when we were on a ‘stay-at-home’ order because we knew it was the best thing to do,” Duncan said.
Duncan said she received notice from the city of Anna Maria when Murphy enacted his local emergency order in March.
Duncan said she received notice from Titsworth when she issued her emergency directive on Thursday.
Duncan said was informed in advance of Friday’s request for the county commission to send a letter to DeSantis seeking an extension of his vacation rental order.
As of Saturday, the city of Bradenton Beach had not enacted any emergency vacation rental restrictions and continued to operate according to the governor’s now-extended order.
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