Officer Dedicated to Illegal Rentals
The City of Key West now has a code compliance officer dedicated to the City’s vacation rental ordinance. According to the City’s code of ordinances, all short term rentals of 30 days or less must be licensed. Illegal rentals often disrupt residential neighborhoods.
Illegal vacation rentals have been on the rise, and the City Commission recently authorized the dedication of a full time code compliance officer to address the problem.
Anyone who suspects illegal vacation rentals can call Code Compliance at 305-809-3731 or 305-809-3740. Or send all information to [email protected]. Anyone reporting a possible illegal rental may remain anonymous unless they wish to be contacted and provide contact information.
Educate me on how illegal vacation rentals disrupt residential neighborhoods.
I have one next door to me and it is party central ALL the time. Loud and drunk. And, there are frequently 3 – 5 cars associated with one visiting group. None of the full time resident homes have more than 2 cars and they are not out at their pools being loud at night 4 or 5 days a week. In one of your other posts, you say you are from the midwest… that explains it. There isn’t a comparable place within a day’s drive. If you google “cities with transient rental restrictions” you will see there are, indeed, other cities with the same laws and challenges. Now, go back to the Cheboygan online news website.
P.S. It has been challenged in court many times.
Firstly it violates zoning laws especially for single family areas.
Then it encourages people to buy second homes as a profit center at higher prices, shutting out honest buyers who need real housing at lower prices. That can raise you property taxes too. It has an effect on ALL available housing in the city and county. So this has the effect of reducing real housing for real families , whether it’s to purchase or rent.. Then there’s the disruption of having strangers next door week after week. They may be respectful or not of their neighbors. There are horror stories.
Actually if there is a transient rental next door it would discourage me from buying or renting.
The only upside I see is that they reduce the desire of the developers to build more hotels, but they still seem to find a way as in the Pilot House example.
I suspect ” Bozewell ” knows all of this already , and more.
Zobop I wonder what you and your city mafia boys will come up next. I got an idea for you. How about a check point before anyone enters the city and charge an entrance few. In a few years you could then charge an exit fee.
Out of curiosity, why do you care?
No one has responded yet so I just may be right that this law is unconstitutional and very very anti-tourist. Key West just proves time and time again that they do not want any tourist. I’ll keep spreading the word. I’m sure the rest of the Keys want the money.
Nothing says that the tourist for a week will be any worse of a neighbor.
But there is a simple way to beat this law. You rent it with 6 month lease with an easy to cancel clause. If KW does not wake up word will get out that it does not want tourists. Think real hard how that ends. Property values drop, tax drops with lower value and jobs go away. KW could turn into a ghost town.
zohop, your perceptive abilities are terrible. I live in the Midwest and have never heard of such rules governing property. I would guess Key West is the only city in the country with such rules. HOAs might have such rules but not cities. Single family dwelling applies to the home structure and it is usually up to the owner to know who and how many people are using his property. Even the owner living in his house could be a disruptive neighbor. Property tax is suppose to be based on MARKET VALUE. Bottom line zohop, your explanation is full of so many holes and TOTALLY ridiculous. This law or ordinance is just another way of the city getting more money and stepping on property owner rights
Since when do I need permission to buy a second home ? The value is what ever someone is willing to sell it for. Nobody’s concern who I let live in it.
https://therealpoopdotorg.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/home_mice.jpg?w=395&h=278
Key West’s rent rules have nothing to do with the impact on the neighborhood. Many renters are more considerate neighbors than the actual residents (there are properties all over town whose yards resemble a junk yard).
These rules are designed to cover two things for the city:
1) They control the competition that rentals create with the hotel rooms in town. These well connected/bubba business owners do not want everyone on this island undercutting their room rates and stealing their business.
2) Taxes. Legal rentals of less than 6 months must collect the same taxes that the hotels do. That’s 12.5% (7.5% sales tax and 5% tourist tax). There is a lot of money in this. By having all these rules there is a structure to make sure the money keeps flowing in.
All other claims about rental rules are the smoke screen used to keep from admitting that its all about “protecting the connected and collecting taxes”.