By Dale Martin
City Manager
Fernandina Beach
February 7, 2020
Next week, several City officials will head west on an annual trek to Tallahassee. The State Legislature is in session, and it has become a tradition to travel to defend the role of local government as state officials attempt to extend their influence.
Some of the most impactful proposed legislation has the potential to change the character of residential neighbors (and for those believing that homeowner association rules will provide ample protections, you are likely mistaken).
The challenge of regulating short-term vacation rental properties continues. Short-term vacation rental properties are properties marketed privately or commercially through entities such as Airbnb- traditional homes used as nontraditional lodging. Regulations are a varied patchwork across the state as different communities have (and desire) different standards. As the short-term rental business becomes more “corporate-based” instead of “mom-and-pop,” more corporate money is poured into lobbying efforts to reduce or eliminate local short-term rental regulations.
A counter-argument to local regulations, well-established in Florida, is individual property rights: “This is my property and I should be able to do whatever I want!” This argument is raised not only in regard to short-term rental issues, but also such issues as tree ordinances and home-based businesses. It is admittedly a difficult balance to achieve between community standards and individual desires.
The challenges associated with short-term rentals are, as is often the case, related to extreme behavior. As previously referenced, short-term vacation rentals have been operating for years in the shadows as “mom-and-pop” businesses- rent your home for a few weeks each year for some extra money while you yourself are on vacation or during a significant local event- a golf tournament, the Super Bowl- or simply because your home is in a very desirous location such as Amelia Island.
As awareness of short-term rentals grew, however, short-term vacation rentals became cheaper alternatives to hotels and the popularity and use of short-term rental properties exploded. Short-term rental properties are now a multi-billion dollar corporate business.
Houses in residential neighborhoods, designed, built, and intended for single-family residential use, are being purchased by corporations solely to be used for short-term rentals: no individuals or family will ever call that place “home.”
The people that visit won’t have any long-term interest in the upkeep and maintenance of the house (the owning corporation may due to its investment). The visitors will have little respect for long-term relationships with other traditional homeowners in the vicinity of the rental: the visitors are only here for a week or so- who cares about trash, noise, and parking issues? How is the character of a neighborhood permanently altered- do the others in the neighborhood have rights to be respected and honored as well?
The position of local governments throughout the state is that local governments should be able to establish their own standards and regulations for short-term rentals. The “broad-brush” approach of what works in Daytona, Del Ray, or Destin may not be wanted in Fernandina Beach. Corporate advocates for short-term rentals want uniform regulations (read: none) so that they can maximize their interest and investments (at the expense of local neighborhoods).
Short-term rentals are not going to be eliminated, nor should they be. The use of private property for short-term rentals does provide some additional revenue for homeowners, but the businesses should be regulated to some degree for the protection of the community. The battle over short-term rental regulations has been going on for many years with annual proposals being offered in Tallahassee to reduce or eliminate local regulations. In general, this state effort is referred to as “pre-emption” – the state restricting the power and authority of local governments.
Other residential property-oriented legislation proposes to curtail or eliminate local regulations on home-based businesses. Home-based business, by their traditional nature, are based in residential or neighborhood areas. Those areas, with other homes and neighbors, are not intended to be commercial districts with associated traffic and parking concerns. Again, home-based businesses are of value to the economy and community, but some regulations are necessary for community protections.
This year’s legislative session is shorter than last year’s, so efforts to influence legislation will be intensified. Do not leave your concerns about legislation to others (including City officials): it is imperative, and at times more effective, for legislators to hear from individuals. Your voice does matter. Use it.
For more information regarding proposed legislation, please visit the Advocacy section of the Florida League of Cities web site: https://www.floridaleagueofcities.com/advocacy-pages/legislative-bill-summaries.
Could you address how HOA covenants won’t be protection against short term rentals? If covenants are a contract between the homeowner and HOA wouldn’t any attempt to override it be a breach of contract that sets the state up for thousands of lawsuits?
Debbie, I’m not an attorney, but I think the main legal concept is that HOAs in FL are governed by state statutes. If there is a conflict between the HOA contract and state law, then state law will prevail. So I interpret that to mean that if state law says you are allowed to have short term rentals, any local ordinance or HOA agreement cannot be in conflict. I certainly agree with Dale that such regulation should be retained at the local level. A property owner’s rights are not absolute as there is some level of restriction based on zoning and building codes. Fairly and evenly applied, such parameters provide an overall benefit to the community in protecting the rights of nearby property owners.
I sent your question to City Manager Dale Martin whose response follows, “Based upon conversations with Ms. Bach, the current proposed legislation does not extend to private covenants. Previous State pre-emption efforts did, however, not include such protections and it should not be taken for granted that covenants are permanently protected (for historic reference, some covenants included discriminatory restrictions/prohibitions that have since been superseded). My comment of vigilance, nonetheless, remains the same.”
Me thinks that lost bed-tax revenue is what is driving much of this conversation. Would be curious to know what the estimated bed tax would be if collected for the AirBnBs around Amelia. If you cannot beat the short-term rental market why not tax it?