Thirty-one property owners sued the City of Clearwater and won. The City appealed but a 3 judge panel of the 2nd District Court of Appeal upheld the original judgment. The property owners were considered "Grandfathered" and would be allowed to continue to rent for periods of less than 31 days, if they so choose.
This is important because 1) it demonstrates the power property owners have when they mobilize and unify to fight for their rights, 2) the ruling upheld the ban on short term rentals for property owners that were not "Grandfathered", and 3) property owners were prohibited by the City from renting short term for 4 years while the case was in court.
To view the judge's original decision, click here.
This is a brief article in the St. Petersburg Times
Landlords on beach win over panel of judges
By Times Staff Writer
Published December 11, 2007
It's okay for one group of homeowners on north Clearwater Beach to continue renting out their homes for less than a month. That's the unanimous ruling from a three-judge panel on the 2nd District Court of Appeal. Clearwater has contended it outlawed short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods decades ago. But the city began to enforce the ban in earnest about 2003, when the number of short-term rentals on the beach exploded. At that time, the city also revised its ordinance to ban any residential rentals shorter than 31 days. In May, Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Nelly Khouzam sided with landlords of 31 properties who said they had been renting long before 2003 and said the city's enforcement had been lax. Khouzam did say the ban applied to any other property that started the practice after 2003.
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