Miami-Dade commissioners delay vote on short-term rentals

County commissioners delayed until Sept. 7 their vote on a proposed ordinance that would spread a regulatory net over short-term rental properties in unincorporated Miami-Dade County.

Commissioner Sally Heyman proposed the ordinance, which would require hosts on Airbnb and other home-sharing platforms to obtain a certificate of use and a business tax receipt, among other requirements.

The proposed ordinance also would require such home-sharing platforms as Airbnb, HomeAway and VRBO to notify Miami-Dade hosts of their duties under the ordinance, to maintain compliance records and to provide any information the county requests with respect to possible violations of law at rental properties, and to publish listings for Miami-Dade hosts only if they have a valid certificate of use.

Neisen Kasdin, an attorney for Airbnb and a partner of law firm Akerman LLP, told the commissioners that parts of the proposed ordinance conflict with federal and state law.

For example, the ordinance would violate state law by requiring that hosts be present at their short-term rental properties when guests are there, or reside in the properties for more than six months a year, Kasdin said.

The ordinance also would require hosts whose properties are within 2,500 feet of a school to ensure that a prospective guest isn’t registered as a sexual offender or a sexual predator.

Heyman’s proposed ordinance also would mandate that hosts collect and remit state and local taxes on short-term rentals and obtain a vacation rental license from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Her proposal additionally would set a maximum number of guests at short-term rental properties and would require hosts to keep a register listing the names of all guests and the dates of their stays.

Fines for violating the ordinance would start at $100 for a first offense, rising to $2,500 for the third offense within a 24-month period. [Miami Herald] – Mike Seemuth