Short-term rentals in Anna Maria, explained properly.

Sec. 108-26 requires an inspection to verify compliance with the Florida Building Code and the Florida Fire and Life Safety Codes that governed at the time of construction, after the initial registration and annually after each renewal. Instances of noncompliance are handled like other violations of those codes. Inspections are by appointment with the owner or agent; the City's page says the inspection is booked through a Calendly link emailed to the applicant. If an inspector cannot complete a scheduled inspection because of an action or inaction of the owner, agent or an occupant, the owner is charged a re-inspection fee set by City Commission resolution (amount not confirmed), payable before the re-inspection is scheduled. Failing to make the rental available within 20 days after written notice that the City is ready for the annual inspection is a violation punishable by a fine set by resolution, and each day is a separate violation. The requirement is not imposed so as to affect contracts that pre-existed November 19, 2015.

Sec. 108-53(a) sets the maximum occupancy, stated on the registration form, at the lesser of two figures. First, two persons per bedroom containing 100 square feet or more, plus one person per bedroom containing at least 70 but less than 100 square feet (counting only rooms that meet the code's definition of bedroom), plus two persons. Second, a total of eight occupants per vacation rental; where there is more than one building or dwelling on one platted lot, occupancy is capped at eight per lot or structure, whichever is less. Exemption: under Sec. 108-53(b) the occupancy limit does not apply when the property is owner occupied by the vacation rental owner; the code defines owner occupied as occupied, at the owner's consent, by family members of the owner who do not pay rent. Grandfathering: a rental in use as a vacation rental on November 19, 2015 could apply for five years of grandfathered occupancy at two persons per bedroom, with the application due by the time of registration and no later than April 1, 2016 (a rental with an occupancy of eight or fewer under the formula needs no grandfathering); whether any rental holds such status now is not confirmed here. The rental agreement and the in-unit information must state the maximum occupancy, and any increase in bedrooms or occupancy requires an amendment of the registration.

Sec. 108-43 requires every vacation rental owner or agent to be available by landline or mobile telephone, answered by the owner or agent at the listed number, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to respond to police, fire or other emergency personnel requests. Response to the City's regulatory personnel is required only Monday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Failing this duty is a violation punishable by a fine set by City Commission resolution (amount not confirmed). The registration form asks for an owner or agent 24/7 contact number. The owner may perform the owner's duties through an agent designated in writing on the City's form; the owner remains responsible for the agent's actions and a change of agent requires a new form and an administrative fee set by resolution (amount not confirmed).

Sec. 108-22(b) lists the submittals: a completed registration form; payment of the fee; a copy of the rental's current DBPR license as a transient public lodging establishment, a copy of its Department of Revenue certificate of registration for sales surtaxes and transient rental taxes, and evidence of its Manatee County Tax Collector account for tourist development taxes (the code adds "if the registrant has" each of these); an exterior site sketch showing structures, pools, spas, hot tubs, fencing and uses with off-street parking spaces delineated so they can be counted; and an interior building sketch by floor showing bedrooms, other rooms, exits, hallways and stairways. Sketches may be hand drawn. The City's page and form list the DBPR license, Department of Revenue certificate and Manatee County Tax Collector account as documents required with the application, and the form also lists the Manatee County Property Appraiser's property report card. The code and the page differ slightly on the three tax and licence documents; the code is followed here and the difference is logged. An incomplete application gets notice and ten days to supply the missing information or fees.

Sec. 108-23 requires an amendment of the registration when any of these changes is proposed: an increase in the number of bedrooms; an increase in maximum occupancy; an increase or decrease in the number of parking spaces or a change in their location; or a change in ownership. Under Sec. 108-27 a registration is transferable only when the rental is sold or otherwise transferred and the new owner files a modification within 30 days of the sale or transfer; otherwise the registration is null and void on the 31st day. A registration creates no vested rights or estoppel and is not an approval of any other code requirement (Sec. 108-28). The City's page provides change-of-management and change-of-ownership forms.

Sec. 108-54 requires vacation rentals to be rented under a written agreement containing at least: the maximum occupancy consistent with the registration; the maximum number of vehicles allowed to park (not more than the parking spaces shown on the registration sketch plus any other legal spaces the owner can show); a statement that a sketch of the permitted off-street parking will be posted at the rental; a statement that all occupants must promptly evacuate on the posting of any evacuation order issued by state or local authorities; and a copy of the City-supplied document, to be attached as a lease addendum, with excerpts on solid waste pick-up, sea turtles and sea turtle lighting, and the City noise ordinance. The City will make the document available digitally and post it on its website.

Sec. 108-55 requires the following to be provided in a prominent location in each vacation rental: the name, address and phone number of the owner or agent; the maximum occupancy; the City-supplied addendum document (solid waste, sea turtle lighting and noise excerpts); the maximum number of vehicles with a sketch of the off-street parking spaces; the days and times of trash pickup; and the location of the nearest hospital. A legible building evacuation map, at least 8.5 by 11 inches, must be posted next to the interior door of each bedroom. The City's page calls the welcome or guest book information a required posting and an inspection requirement.

Sec. 108-52 requires vacation rentals to meet the applicable standards under the Florida Statutes, the Florida Building Code and the Florida Fire Code and Life Safety Code, and requires each vacation rental to have at least one telephone with the ability to call 911. The City's page links to National Fire Protection Association information on smoke detector and fire extinguisher requirements and to the Florida Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act (Ch. 515); the specific requirements in those documents were not read.

Sec. 108-4 provides that violations are enforced under Chapter 2, Administration, Article III, Code Enforcement, and through fines set by ordinances and resolutions of the City Commission. Operating without registration is a violation, and every day of operation without registration is a separate violation (Sec. 108-21). Failing to make the rental available for inspection within 20 days of written notice, and failing the 24-hour contact duty, are violations punishable by fines set by resolution. Giving intentionally false or fraudulent information in a grandfathering application or in support of a pre-existing agreement defense is subject to a fine set by resolution. The resolution that sets the fine amounts was not read.

Under Sec. 108-5, any decision of the mayor or the mayor's authorized designee relating to the chapter is rendered in writing in appealable form and reviewed by the city special magistrate if the owner or agent files a notice with the city clerk within ten days after the action. The clerk places the matter on the agenda of the next available special magistrate meeting, no later than 35 days after the notice is filed. The special magistrate's decision is final, in writing, and may be reviewed as permitted under Florida law.

Florida Statutes § 509.032(7)(b) says a local law, ordinance or regulation may not prohibit vacation rentals or regulate how long or how often they are rented. Local rules adopted on or before June 1, 2011 are exempt from this limit, so some older local rules on rental length can still apply. Section 509.032(7)(a) also reserves the regulation of public lodging establishments (sanitation, inspections and similar matters) to the state, while local governments keep building-code and fire-code inspections. Local governments can still require registration and set other rules that do not ban rentals or limit their length or frequency.

The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), Division of Hotels and Restaurants, licenses vacation rentals. A license is needed when an entire unit is rented more than three times in a calendar year for periods of less than 30 days or one calendar month, whichever is less, or when the unit is advertised or held out to the public as a place regularly rented to guests. Houses, townhouses and buildings of up to four units take a Vacation Rental – Dwelling license; condominium and cooperative units take a Vacation Rental – Condominium license. Renting single rooms rather than the whole unit does not need a DBPR license, though local rules may still apply. Current licenses must be displayed in a conspicuous place on the premises.

New DBPR vacation rental applications pay a $50 application fee, a $10 Hospitality Education Program fee and a license fee. For a single rental unit the full-year license fee is $170 (half-year $90); group licenses for 2 to 25 units are $180 (half-year $95), with higher tiers for more units. Renewals pay the $10 education fee plus the full-year license fee. Renewal and half-year dates depend on the county's DBPR district.

Anyone who rents, leases, lets or grants a license to use transient accommodations must register with the Florida Department of Revenue to collect, report and remit sales tax.

Florida's 6% state sales tax, plus any applicable county discretionary sales surtax, applies to rent paid for living, sleeping or housekeeping accommodations rented for six months or less.

Counties (and certain cities) may add a local option transient rental tax, such as a tourist development tax, on rentals of six months or less, on top of the 6% state sales tax and any surtax. The Department of Revenue's rate table lists each county's rate and who collects it. Most counties administer the tax themselves, and in those counties it is reported and paid directly to the county rather than to the state.