Miami Beach shuts down short-term rentals due to coronavirus

The city of Miami Beach ordered all short-term rentals to stop operating effective Wednesday at 12:01 a.m. due to the record number of coronavirus cases.

Miami Beach updated its emergency order to close and prohibit short-term rentals, a week after Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez issued restrictions on restaurants, gyms, fitness centers and short-term rentals.

Miami Beach’s ban orders short-term and vacation rentals to cancel existing reservations and to stop accepting new guests or new reservations until the order expires.

The county’s order is less stringent, limiting daytime and overnight occupancy at short-term rentals to two people per bedroom, and two additional people per property, with a cap on 10 people per property. The minimum stay for all short-term rentals is now one month in the county, though Miami Beach is going a step further to freeze all operations.

Short-term rentals were first ordered to shut down in Miami-Dade in late May, along with hotels. Vacation and short-term rentals were allowed to begin operating again in early June.

Positive cases of Covid-19 have soared in Florida, and Miami is now considered the new epicenter of the virus. As of Tuesday, there have been 291,629 confirmed cases in Florida and 4,409 deaths, according to the Florida Department of Health.

During a mayors’ roundtable press conference on Tuesday, Gimenez cited Airbnb party houses and the gathering of groups of people at homes as part of the reason for the spread.

A curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. in Miami-Dade is ongoing.

Municipalities throughout South Florida have been issuing new restrictions on businesses. In Palm Beach County, restaurants will now have to close their dining rooms at 11 p.m.