LTC 253-2017 Senate Bill 188 and House Bill 425 (Short Term Rentals)MIAMIBEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY, Raul J. Aguila, City Attorney
LTC No. 253-2017
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
Mayor Philip Levine
Members of the City Commission
City Manager Jimmy Morales
City Attorney Raul J. Aguil
May 12, 2017
Senate Bill 188 and House Bill 425 (Short -Term Rentals)
LETTER TO COMMISSION
The purpose of this LTC is to notify the Mayor and City Commission of the failure of Senate Bill
188 and House Bill 425 to be enacted into law by the Florida Legislature this year. These two
(2) Bills sought to further preempt local governments by nullifying local government vacation
rental (short-term) regulations, and mandating that a local referendum be held to maintain the
validity of those grandfathered ordinances that were enacted by any local governments prior to
June 1,2011.
A Brief Legislative History
The Florida Legislature originally preempted vacation rental regulation to the State in 2011.
This prevented local governments from enacting any new law, ordinance, or regulation that
prohibited, restricted the use of, or regulated vacation rentals based on classification, use, or
occupancy. The 2011 legislation exempted (grandfathered) any local law, ordinance, or
regulation that was enacted by a local government on or prior to June 1, 2011. The Florida
Legislature narrowed the preemption authority to the State in 2014, which permitted local
governments to regulate vacation rentals, provided those regulations did not prohibit, or regulate
the duration or frequency of, the vacation rental.
The City enacted its ordinance(s) prior to June 1, 2011, which triggered the grandfather
provision set forth in the State statute, and authorized the City to continue its enforcement of
those ordinances that prohibited transient rentals or occupancy, as specifically codified in
Sections 142-109, 142-905 and 142-1111 of the City Code.
The Current Legislative Amendments
There were multiple attempts to strengthen the preemption authority of the State in these two
(2) Bills during the Legislative session which, if enacted, would have adversely impacted the
City's ability to continue to prohibit those illegal transient rentals throughout the City. The
proposed legislation would have prohibited the City from enacting, amending or enforcing any of
its ordinances for vacation rentals (short-term rentals) that established different regulatory
requirements for non -vacation rentals (long-term rentals). Any ordinance that the City would
have enacted would have to be uniformly applied to both Tong -term and short-term properties
(e.g., minimum time period for rentals, management contact person or renovation requirements
as set forth in Sections 142-109 and 142-1111). A committee substitute for HB 425 sought to
resurrect a provision that Senator Greg Steube was attempting with SB 188, which was to
Letter to Commission Re Senate Bill 188 and House Bill 425
(Short -Term Rentals)
May 12, 2017
Page 2 of 2
establish a "one size fits all" concept throughout the entire State of Florida, irrespective of the
negative applicability of such an amendment to single family zoning districts.
The one notable aspect of the Bill was a provision that required a vacation rental owner to
submit a copy of the vacation rental license (the license is issued by the Department of
Business and Professional Regulations) to the City. Meaning that, a property owner would be
legally required to obtain a license from the State, and provide the City with a copy of the
certificate of registration (required under Section 212.18 of the Florida Statutes) setting forth the
emergency contact information for the vacation rental property. Regrettably, this provision
stated that the "submission of such documents and information is for informational purposes
only." It essentially accomplished nothing of benefit to the City.
The most troubling provision promulgated by the Legislature was its attempt to nullify the City's
grandfather status with respect to Section 142-109, 142-905 and 142-1111. This measure of
the failed legislation would have subjected the City's transient rental and occupancy ordinances
to a local referendum in order to continue the validity of its grandfather status. The referendum
would have required at least two-thirds of the City's electors to vote in support of the referendum
in order to ratify the legitimacy of these Ordinances.
Conclusion
It is anticipated that Senator Steube (and others in the Legislature) will continue their attempts
to pursue these measures during the Legislative Session in 2018.
The City Attorney's Office strongly recommends that the City maintain an active role in
lobbying the Legislature in Tallahassee, in order to properly identify those legal issues
surrounding these measures, the negative and detrimental effects on the City's governmental
interests, and in particular, any future attempt by the Legislature to preempt the City on the
subject matter of vacation rentals.
RJA/AB/sc