INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, Fla. — Nearly two weeks since the end of Florida’s legislative session, a number of bills are still awaiting Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature, including the state budget. When the session ended in early May, it also marked the end of the road for a number of bills that didn’t make it past both chambers.

What You Need To Know

  • City commissioners voted on a new set of rules for short-term rental properties in Indian Rocks Beach

  • Florida lawmakers have been working on regulating short-term rentals for years

  • A pair of bills died on the last day of the legislative session, which allowed Indian Rocks Beach to pass new restrictions

For years, state lawmakers have been working on regulating short-term rentals, typically found on websites like Airbnb and Vrbo. On the last day of the legislative session, a pair of bills died because lawmakers couldn’t agree on the language, specifically how much control to give to local governments versus the state’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

That bill’s failing allowed Indian Rocks Beach to go ahead with passing its rules. City commissioners unanimously passed a new ordinance, controlling several aspects.

Before the vote, nearly a dozen residents told city leaders about the negative effects they’re experiencing living near short-term rental properties. Resident Marilyn Bush said she sees six rentals from her front door and called it the “invasion of the house snatchers.”

“We are now living the nightmare on our own streets,” Bush said. “I used to be welcoming and friendly, and now I’m the crabby old lady down the street.”

While many residents thanked commissioners for passing the regulations, some short-term rental owners fear the new rules will do more harm than good.

“The idea of this 25 pages of law is to get rid of us, it’s not to regulate us,” said Todd Veach, who owns five rental properties in Indian Rocks Beach. “They’re not trying to make it a better experience for guests, they’re not trying to make it a better experience for residents and owners. We bring a lot of money in. Half the vehicles that are coming over that bridge every day are for the short-term rental industry and the blue-collar professionals that are coming over to help us out.”

Indian Rocks Beach began looking at potential regulations on short-term rentals last summer, when a group of citizens requested the city implement stricter regulations on the industry, which boomed during the pandemic. City commissioners held multiple workshops prior to voting to get feedback from residents and property owners.

Under the ordinance,

  • A maximum of 10 people is allowed per home outside the city’s commercial tourist district
  • There must be a parking spot for every bedroom in the home, with a minimum of two spots
  • Quiet hours start at 10 p.m. until 7 a.m. for guests in rental properties
  • Rental owners must pay an annual $400 registration fee for their property

“I think it’s going to eliminate short-term rentals, to be honest,” Veach said. “I’m trying to figure out when I read through it how we can really make it work and do the bidding of the city, but I don’t know how I can do it. What’s going to happen is, it doesn’t matter if I comply with those laws or not, it’s the guests’ activity and it’s the guests’ conduct and they’re going to penalize me.”

After the vote, an attorney representing short-term rental owners said a lawsuit against the city is likely unavoidable. Meanwhile, the state legislature has brought up regulating short-term rentals almost every legislative session since 2014 and it’s likely it will come up again next year.