Miami-Dade may impose new rules on short-term rentals

A proposed ordinance would impose a pile of new regulations on short-term rentals in unincorporated Miami-Dade County.

Hosts on such platforms as Airbnb and HomeAway would be required to obtain a certificate of use and a business tax receipt and to enforce compliance by guests with short-term rental standards.

Miami-Dade Commissioner Sally Heyman, who is sponsoring the proposed ordinance, told the Miami Herald the proposal is “a work in progress.” The county commission is scheduled to consider the proposal at its meeting on Tuesday.

Fines for violating the proposed ordinance would range from $100 for a first offense to $2,500 for the third offense in a 24-month period.

Under the proposed ordinance, the county would charge hosts a “minimal” fee to apply for a certificate of use. The application would include contact information for the host, the property owner and the platform that lists the short-term rental property.

Hosts applying for a certificate of use also would be required to collect and remit local tourism tax and state tax on rental income and to have a vacation rental license from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. In applications for a certificate of use, hosts also would state whether they want to rent a room, more than one room or an entire residence. Hosts also would be required to renew their certificates of use annually.

Airbnb and other online rental platforms would be prohibited from posting short-term rental listings for Miami-Dade hosts without a certificate of use.

The proposed ordinance also would require Airbnb and similar platforms to maintain Miami-Dade compliance records and to inform the county of possible violations of law on the premises of short-term rental properties.

“While we see some challenges with the ordinance as currently written, we are confident that the Board [of county commissioners] will allow our host community a seat at the table as we all pursue our joint mission of developing clear, fair rules that work for everyone in unincorporated Miami-Dade,” Benjamin Breit, a spokesman for Airbnb, said in a statement.

Under the proposed ordinance, hosts also would be required to keep a list the names of all guests, as well as people the guests invite to the short-term rental property. The maximum overnight occupancy would be two people per room.

The proposed county ordinance emerged as bills deregulating vacation rentals move through legislative subcommittees in the Florida Senate and House. The bills would prohibit local governments from enacting new regulations the ban short-term rentals or limit their frequency or duration.

But according to Heyman’s proposed ordinance, state law allows local governments “to enact new regulations on vacation rentals that do not pertain to duration and frequency.” [Miami Herald] – Mike Seemuth