US: Florida governor Ron DeSantis has vetoed a measure designed to further regulate vacation rentals in the state, as he admitted that the proposal would have created “bureaucratic red tape” for local elected officials.
While the regulation of vacation rentals has proved to be a contentious issue in Florida over recent years, the latest bill, known as CS/SB 280, was approved by 23 votes to 16 in the Florida Senate, before the House then passed it by 60 votes to 51.
As listed on the Florida Senate government website, CS/SB 280 would have required booking platforms or operators listing a vacation rental to collect and remit specified taxes for certain vacation rental transactions, while it would have been mandatory for platforms to require hosts or owners listing properties to include specific information in the listings.
One of the most contentious aspects of the bill would have been the “preempting” regulation of vacation rental properties to the state. Local governments in the state would have been empowered to enforce short-term rental registration programmes within the parameters set out by officials if the bill had not been vetoed.
The existing law bans local ordinances or regulations passed after 2011 that prohibit vacation rentals or regulate the duration or frequency of rental stays, thus discounting registration programmes.
DeSantis wrote in a veto message: “The bill would have prevented local governments rom enforcing existing ordinances or passing any new local measure which would exclusively apply to vacation rentals.
“Under the bill, any such measure must apply to all residential properties. The effect of this provision will prevent virtually all local regulation of vacation rentals even though the vacation rental markets are far from uniform across the various regions of the state.
“Going forward, I encourage the Florida Legislature and all key stakeholders to work together, with the understanding that vacation rentals should not be approached as a one-size-fits-all issue,” he added.
Advocates from across the vacation rental industry, including property management companies and real estate industry group Florida Realtors, came together to urge governor DeSantis to veto and defeat the bill.
Melbourne Beach mayor Alison Dennington told The News Service of Florida that the bill had gone “too far” and called DeSantis’ veto “wonderful”.
Florida Realtors said that the bill had “failed to strike a fair balance between the rights of private property owners to rent their property on a short-term basis and the ability of local governments to regulate these rentals”.
Meanwhile, Senate bill sponsor Nick DiCeglie, R-Indian Rocks Beach, told Sun Sentinel: “This is a difficult issue that has property owners on both sides who deserve a voice in the process. We worked hard to pass legislation through both the Senate and the House that took the concerns of all stakeholders into consideration.
“While I disagree with the governor’s decision, I understand his concerns,” he added.
