Your vacation rental could be in jeopardy...

The City of Miami Beach has been issuing code violations to single family homeowners who rent for less than a six month lease. As a basis for these code violations, the City references Director's Interpretation 00-2 which states that rentals of single family homes for less than six months are prohibited based on the City's Resort Tax Code.

As many of you know, the Resort Tax Code applies a tax to the rental of rooms in hotels, motels, and apartment houses. The City lacks the legal authority to tax single family home rentals. There are no codes or Land Development Regulations limiting the rental of single family homes except for the prohibition of for-profit party rentals.

Additionally, the City of Miami Beach has been issuing code violations to owners of apartments and condominiums that have advertised rentals for less than a six month lease. The City references Director's Interpretation 00-2a which states that rentals of apartments in certain zones for less than six months are prohibited based on the City's Resort Tax Code.

As many of you know, the Resort Tax Code applies to apartments, and the City collects Resort Tax on rentals of apartments (without regard to district) for less than six months. The Resort Tax Code actually solidifies a property owner's right to rent an apartment for less than six months in any zone that contains legal apartments.

Recently, the City's Special Master ruled that Director's Interpretation 00-2a inserts wording into the Code that does not exist, and thus cannot be enforced.

The Special Master ruled that apartments can be rented for less than six months.

We are opposed to Codification of Director's Interpretation. We agree with the Special Master that the Director's Interpretation cannot be enforced. We feel that the Code should not contain legal errors.

We also oppose the "Seasonal Rental" ordinance, as it strips property owners of their right to use and rent their property without undue burdens of and by the government.

We support a property owner's right to rent their property for residential use, for any term and/or frequency, provided that all other codes and laws are followed.

We support a property owner's right to legal compensation for any loss of use/income resulting from a change in zoning restrictions following any Planning Board or Commission vote to restrict the duration of residential rentals, as provided for by the Forth Amendment to the US Constitution and the Bert J. Harris Jr. Act of the Florida Statutes.

Please email: miamibeachpropertyrights@gmail.com if you need further information about Special Master Ruling 00-2a.

Property owners need to stand up for their rights.

Please attend the Planning Board Meeting Tuesday, August 26, 2008, at 3:00 PM

AT: City Hall Chambers, 3rd Floor, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami
Beach, FL.

*** Parking available in 17th Street garage and in City's meter lot on Convention Center Drive.

WHY: The Planning Board needs to hear input from YOU, the public. Should they approve a short-term rental prohibition, their vote will become a temporary enforceable law effective August 26th. The City will then move forward to regulate all other rentals.

If you can, please attend this meeting and speak your mind, or at least show your presence. The Planning Board is an appointed board of City residents. They do listen to your comments, and consider your points of view.

Director's Interpretation - Seperating Fact From Fiction

On Tuesday August 26th, the Planning Board is scheduled to vote for or against the Codification of Director's Interpretation 00-2. This Interpretation has been used to empower the City's code enforcement actions against single-family homeowners.

As many have pointed out, the Director's Interpretation mis-represents the actual code and/or improperly inserts wording into the City Code that does not exist in order to reach a desired conclusion. This makes the Interpretation legally unenforceable.

One of our supporters has submitted a detailed critique of the Director's Interpretation. It contains factual quotations of City Code in order to clarify the legal issues with the Director's Interpretation.

We have verified the Codes quoted in this analysis, and we recommend that the Planning Board reject the Codification of Director's Interpretation 00-2 and that the City cease all code-enforcement actions based on this Interpretation.

Ban On Rentals Less Than 90 Days Considered In Oakland Park

The City of Oakland had a discussion on May 6 about language banning the rental of single family homes for a period less than 90 days, despite previous promises that their goal was to only ban daily rentals. The idea did not move forward thanks in large part to the efforts of Oakland Park Commissioner Suzanne Boisvenue, who spoke out strongly against this proposal and kept Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale (RAGFL) leadership informed on the progress of the issue.

Since then, RAGFL’s Board of Directors adopted a uniform policy opposing all efforts by any governmental entity to place restrictions on the length of time a homeowner can rent a single family home to a particular renter. RAGFL believes we should be using existing codes pertaining to noise and nuisance to keep our neighborhoods peaceful, rather than limiting the rights of homeowners.

Bad for Homeowners & Private Property Rights--
As our market struggles and the foreclosure crisis continues, the last thing homeowners need is the “Lease Police” telling homeowners how they can or cannot utilize their property and pay their bills. Limiting the ability of homeowners to utilize a home could mean the difference between paying their mortgage or not.

Bad for Moving Residents--
It is common for a gap to exist between the time one sells a home and purchases their next one. Sometimes a person or family will need to rent space on a short term basis during their transition. If short term rentals are banned, people in this situation will be forced out of the city.

Bad for Traveling Professionals--
Traveling professionals, such as nurses who are hired to work temporarily during peak seasons, need housing too. We cannot afford to drive essential personnel out of the area.

http://www.r-world.com/GovernmentAffairs/index.html/#51

Miami Beach Short Term Rentals In The News

The following are articles in the Miami Herald and Sun Post covering the Planning Board Meeting of July 29, 2008.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/beaches/story/627425.html

http://miamisunpost.com/080708rentals.htm