While the war against home-sharing companies like Airbnb rages on in South Florida, a bill prohibiting Florida cities and counties from passing measures to restrict homesharing companies and vacation rentals sailed through a Florida House subcommittee on Tuesday.
With a 9-6 vote, the House Careers and Competition Subcommittee voted in favor of HB 425, sponsored by Rep. Mike LaRosa, R-St. Cloud.
LaRosa’s proposal would ban cities, towns and local governments from encroaching on vacation rental companies like Airbnb and Home Away, effectively requiring municipalities to treat vacation rental homes just like any other home in any given neighborhood.
Beginning in 2011, those protections against regulations used to be available to vacation rental properties. But facing pressure from cities and local government, Florida caved, rolling back those regulations in 2014.
Homesharing operations have been a booming industry in Florida in recent years. The premise is simple: homeowners can offer up their residences for rental purposes and vacationers can nab a better deal on top of a cozier experience than one they’d get at a hotel.
The vacation home rental debate has been especially heated in South Florida, where Mayors Tomás Regalado and Philip Levine of Miami and Miami Beach have enacted strict regulations and hefty fines on citizens who violating short term rental laws.
Fines for offenders generally begin at $500, but in cities like Miami Beach, those fines can skyrocket up to $20,000.
Local officials like Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine said fines should be higher to discourage homeowners from renting out their houses to tourists illegally.
“I think [the fines] can be increased, actually,” said Levine. “Twenty thousand dollars is not enough. Our community is not in favor of short-term rentals.”
Last week, the Miami City Commission pushed further on the short-term rental issue, voting 3-2 to declare Airbnb homes an “illegal nuisance.”
On Tuesday, lawmakers questioned whether the issue became a zoning problem, expressing concerns for homeowners who might not want commercialized “businesses” like vacation rentals encroaching on their way of life.
“In not allowing zoning, we have created, effectively winners and losers,” said Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay. “It’s not so much the hotels I’m worried about, it’s the folks who live in the neighborhood that’s supposed to be residential.”
Supporters of the bill said home sharing and vacation rentals were simply ways to show travelers the true spirit of their cities while making a little extra money.
“Miami has become a very expensive city to call home,” said Marcie Mascaro, an Airbnb host from Miami who attended last week’s commission meeting. “Americans must get creative with how we pay our bills. The sharing economy is the ultimate example of freedom and democracy.”
Opponents of the measure, which include the Florida Association of Counties and cities like Bradenton Beach, Miami and Lake Worth, say the bill is bad for residents and for regulating the short-term rental industry.
“This is an attack on home rule,” said Miami assistant city attorney Kerri McNulty, who came to testify against the bill on the city’s behalf. “We are being inundated with calls...from [residents] who are complaining about short term rentals. We need to be able to regulate [rentals] and identify them...that’s all that we are asking here.”
Homesharing companies, however, view the legislation as a critical step to boost the economy and tourism in the Sunshine State.
"HB 425 is an important protection for property rights and will encourage a vital part of Florida's tourism economy,” HomeAway spokesperson Jennifer Green told Sunshine State News. “HomeAway is grateful for Rep. La Rosa's leadership and for the favorable vote from today's committee."
Statewide polling has shown nearly all Floridians -- 93 percent -- believe Floridians should be allowed to rent accommodations other than hotels.
LaRosa said his legislation was an important step in promoting an investment in Florida tourism.
“People come to Florida and buy a home five, seven, ten years before they come down and retire and this opportunity, to be able to rent [homes] out while they’re not there [is an opportunity] for them to invest in our state today,” said LaRosa.
The bill now heads to the House Commerce Committee, its final stop before heading to the full House floor for a vote.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
