TALLAHASSEE – Florida lawmakers’ latest attempt to advance vacation rental legislation narrowly cleared a House panel Wednesday, with critics condemning the move to strip away control from city and county governments.
House sponsor Rep. Jason Fischer, R-Jacksonville, said his bill (HB 219) would bring “consistency” to the massive vacation rental industry, which is powered by such giants as Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway and others.
But opponents said they were alarmed by Fischer’s move to erase local regulations enacted on such properties since 2011 and turn over future oversight of vacation rentals solely to the state. In exchange, companies renting homes would collect and remit sales taxes, tourist development taxes and other fees, revenue that now mostly goes uncaptured.
Florida law already bans local governments from prohibiting vacation rentals.
Fischer’s bill, though, barely made it through the Regulatory Reform subcommittee. Supporters rallied behind the idea that property rights gave homeowners authority to make money by renting their homes.
But opponents challenged the view that such rights are unrestricted – and have no bearing on others. Rep. Michael Grieco, a Miami Beach Democrat, argued that there’s a “social contract in residential neighborhoods.”
“Turning a house into a borderline unregulated mini-hotel is something that obviously has a negative impact on neighborhoods,” said Rep. Michael Grieco, D-Miami Beach. “Talking about property rights, should I be able to buy a house and turn the garage into a Crossfit gym?”
Still, property rights was a dominant theme supporters used in arguing against efforts by local governments to regulate how and where these homes are located. Cities, however, could still enforce noise, parking and other community standards if the vacation houses get out of line, supporters pointed out.
“We need more deregulation in this area, across the board, in lodging and hotels,” said Rep. Tommy Gregory, R-Sarasota.
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The Florida League of Cities opposed the measure, along with representatives of a handful of beach communities, including Jacksonville Beach, Tequesta and Satellite Beach. The battle over vacation rentals has been going on for more than a decade in Tallahassee, but some supporters see the session beginning March 2 as potentially a breakthrough opportunity to get vacation homes out of the hands of local governments.
The identical legislation (SB 522) sponsored by Sen. Manny Diaz, R-Miami, is set to get its first Senate hearing next week.
Fischer said, “This bill has been improved over time because of the feedback of individuals.”
In the Senate, new Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, sought to reach a compromise last year – landing on a package similar to this year’s measure. But the legislation failed to win approval and also drew late opposition from Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“These are things where you’ll have kind of a quiet neighborhood,” DeSantis said late in the 2020 session. “Then you will have someone doing this and there are parties going on and some of the residents get upset. My view would be, probably, that should be determined locally.”
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