Legislation that would strip local vacation rental control won’t cross the finish line this session, state Sen. Anitere Flores says.
Senate Bill 1128, as proposed by Sen. Manny Diaz Jr., and House Bill 1011 would preempt all regulation of vacation rentals to the state, including, but not limited to, the inspection and licensing of vacation rentals. Implications of a preemption by the state governing vacation rentals goes beyond fear of a Keys homeowner dealing with nightly, rowdy parties at a vacation rental next door; it also has impacts on home values and taxes.
While the House bill is on the special order calendar for Friday, March 6, legislation was postponed on the Senate side in the Rules Committee.
“The bill that was relating to vacation rentals that had some language that would have been pretty detrimental to the Keys, that bill seems to be done for session,” Flores told the Weekly. “That’s something that I think is good. You can cross that off the plate this session.”
While legislation appears to be done this year, Flores says the matter will likely come up again. Flores, who’s in her last year as senator, says she hopes whoever’s elected next year will push to get the carve-out for the Keys.
“I think there are certainly some parts in the state where there isn’t a good relationship with the vacation rental community and the local government,” she said. “I do think there will eventually be a bill that will try to bring a little more statewide regulation. But again, the unique nature of the Keys is going to be something that’s important to protect.”
“I do think there will eventually be a bill that will try to bring a little more statewide regulation, but again, the unique nature of the Keys is going to be something that’s important to protect.”
— State Sen. Anitere Flores
Current Keys laws state there shall be no rentals of less than seven days in Islamorada and Marathon, or 28 days in unincorporated Monroe County.
In 2011, those rules were “grandfathered,” or allowed to stay on the books. However, state law says no municipality may change its vacation rental law — at all — without losing its grandfathered status and reverting to state law.
Since 2018, Monroe County has been pushing for an amendment to any bill that addresses vacation rentals. In essence, officials want a “carve-out” that would exempt state Areas of Critical Concern, which includes the Keys. (There are four Areas of Critical Concern in Florida, but only Monroe County has a substantial population.)
Even if legislation advanced and passed, it didn’t appear to have the backing of Gov. Ron DeSantis. When asked by reporters, DeSantis said while he hadn’t made up his mind, he was “leaning against” it.
“We have 22 million people almost. We are a very diverse state,” he told reporters. “For us to be micromanaging vacation rentals, I am not sure that is the right thing to do.”
