TALLAHASSEE – The Florida Legislature’s efforts to preempt vacation rental regulation to the state took a significant step forward when the Florida Senate passed Senate Bill 280 on Feb. 1.
After previously passing through two Senate committees, the bill passed the full Senate 27-13.
If enacted as state law, the proposed legislation would further limit the ability of Florida cities, towns and counties to regulate vacation rentals and vacation rental advertising at the local level.
The preemption of vacation rental regulation to the state would impact all three Anna Maria Island cities to varying degrees.
Sen. Jim Boyd (R-Bradenton) and Sen. Joe Gruters (R-Sarasota) were among the 27 senators who supported the bill, originally introduced by Sen. Nick DiCeglie (R-St. Petersburg). Ten Democrats opposed SB 280, joined by three Republicans.
Originally introduced by State Rep. Philip Griffitts Jr. (R-St. Petersburg), the House companion bill, HB 1537, successfully passed through the House Regulatory Reform & Economic Development Subcommittee on Feb. 1 by a 10-4 vote. State Rep. Will Robinson Jr. (R-Bradenton) supported the bill.
If HB 1537 successfully passes through the Ways & Means Committee and the Commerce Committee, it will then be brought to the House floor for a vote by the entire House before the 60-day legislative session ends on March 8.
In order to become state law, matching Senate and House bills must be adopted by the two governing bodies. If the final versions of the two bills are not identical, the legislation fails. If the identical bills are passed by their respective bodies, the legislation will be sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis to sign into law, to approve without signing or to veto.
As of Feb. 2, the Senate and House bills were not identical matching bills. The Senate-approved version of SB 280 contains two-plus-two occupancy limits not yet included in HB 1537.
The adopted Senate bill states the vacation rental owner or operator must “State and comply with the maximum overnight occupancy of the vacation rental which does not exceed either two persons per bedroom, plus an additional two persons in one common area; or more than two persons per bedroom if there is at least 50 square feet per person, plus an additional two persons in one common area, whichever is greater.”
As of Feb. 2, the House bill simply said the vacation rental owner/operator must “State the maximum occupancy of the vacation rental based on the number of sleeping accommodations for persons staying overnight in the vacation rental.”
Fees and taxes
The Legislature’s efforts to preempt vacation rental regulation to the state are partially driven by a stated desire to better address the collection of vacation rental registration and licensing fees and the collection of taxes levied on transient public lodging entities, including those on the Airbnb and VRBO advertising and rental platforms.
Several Florida counties levy tourist or resort taxes on short-term lodging stays. Manatee County levies a 5% tourist development tax on short-term lodging stays.
SB 280 and HB 1537 address at great length vacation rental advertising/rental platforms and the collection of fees and taxes.
In January, the independent, non-partisan Florida TaxWatch organization published a 16-page report titled, “The Impact of Unlicensed Vacation Rentals on Florida’s Economy.”
“In November 2023, an average day had an estimated minimum of 25,457 unlicensed vacation rentals with available listings, which is 19% of all available listings for that month,” the report says.
The report estimated Florida had an estimated minimum of 49,280 unlicensed vacation rental properties at that time.
“Tax evasion by unlicensed vacation rentals worsens the tax burden on dutiful, taxpaying residents and businesses,” the report says. “The loss of registration costs, required once per year, would be between $1.8 million and $6.9 million. If the unlicensed vacation rentals continued to operate in the years to follow, the state would see a loss of licensing fees between $1.2 million and $5.5 million. Collectively, local communities can lose up to $32,000 in local option transient taxes within a single day. If the unlicensed vacation rentals filed for a homestead exemption in the absence of permanent residency, up to $21.3 million in property taxes could be lost to fraud.”
Anna Maria concerns
During the Jan. 25 Anna Maria City Commission meeting, City Attorney Becky Vose voiced her concerns.
She said the Senate bill would still allow the city to inspect vacation rentals during the initial registration process but would not allow follow-up inspections in future years. She noted the annual inspections help identify violations and non-compliance issues that arise after the initial inspection takes place.
Regarding the city’s annual inspection fees, Vose said, “It would cap the initial application fee at $150 and cap all subsequent renewal fees at $50, which would transfer the bulk of the cost of regulation and registration of vacation rentals to the taxpayers of the city, which is totally unfair.”
Anna Maria imposes an occupancy-based annual registration fee established each year by a city-approved city resolution. The fee is based on the estimated cost of administering, regulating and enforcing the city’s vacation rental ordinance. The fee is $84.17 per allowed occupant, according to the city’s vacation rental ordinance. The fee for the owner of a two-bedroom vacation rental permitted to have two guests per bedroom plus two additional guests is $505. The annual fee for a 12-occupant vacation rental is $1,010 and the annual fee for a 16-occupant vacation rental is $1,346.
Vose also expressed concerns about the state’s ability to enforce the vacation rental regulations as a whole.
Mayor Dan Murphy recently said capping registration fees would significantly impact the city’s ability to regulate vacation rentals. During past discussions, he said the city’s enforcement of online vacation rental advertising is the city’s only means to regulate vacation rental occupancy. The city doesn’t have the authority to enter vacation rentals to count occupants.
Commission Chair Mark Short encourages concerned citizens to visit the Home Rule Florida website, www.HomeRuleFl.com, to express their opinions to state legislators.
