Short-term rentals in Boynton Beach, explained properly.

The definition in Sec. 13-93 covers a unit or group of units in a condominium or cooperative, and any individually or collectively owned single-family, two-family, three-family or four-family dwelling unit or structure. A standard residential rental is a unit not rented for less than thirty days (or one calendar month) more than three times in a calendar year; it is not classed as a short-term rental, and the code says it typically represents the occupant's principal residence. A transient occupant is any person who rents or occupies a dwelling unit or any part of it as a temporary or secondary residence in a unit that meets the short-term rental definition.

Section 13-94(b) sets non-refundable application fees for a short-term rental: $525.00 for the initial application and $325.00 for a renewal (each includes the first City inspection), and $100.00 for a reinspection. These amounts are written into the code as adopted by Ordinance 23-012 (July 18, 2023). The section sends the reader to section 13-4 of Chapter 13 for the fees for other residential rentals, and that section and any separate City fee schedule haven't been reviewed yet.

Section 13-94 lists: a complete and separate application for each unit; the fees; an affidavit of compliance endorsed by both the property owner and the Local Responsible Party; and a detailed, legible sketch with floor plan and site plan showing the number and size of bedrooms, the swimming pool and its required safety barrier, storage areas for waste and any recreational vehicles, and parking spaces marked and measured. A fully executed agreement with the City of Boynton Beach Police Department authorizing police officers to address trespassing on behalf of the owner is also required (Secs. 13-94(i) and 13-96(f)). Annual renewal follows the same article and Article I of the chapter.

Section 13-94(f) requires a new application when any of these changes is proposed to an approved application: a change in gross square footage, in the number of bedrooms, in the maximum occupancy, in the number or location of parking spaces, or in ownership of the property. After the changes or alterations are complete, the owner must notify the City within ten days; a new Certificate of Use and Occupancy and Business Tax Receipt may then be issued if the conditions are met and all required permits have been issued, and additional fees may apply under section 13-4.

Section 13-96(e) says annual renewal of a short-term rental requires the passing of a new inspection by City staff. The initial and renewal application fees each include the first City inspection, and a reinspection costs $100. Section 13-94(h) says a short-term rental approved by the City to operate as a residential rental before these regulations were adopted cannot be renewed automatically; a new application must be filed and reviewed under this article and Article I.

Under Sec. 13-96(c), in addition to Chapter 13, Article I, the Local Responsible Party is responsible for ensuring compliance with all requirements and standards for the short-term rental, including posting the occupant information, receiving service of any violation of the chapter, visiting the rental dwelling unit at least weekly to ensure continued compliance with at minimum the property maintenance requirements of the chapter and other applicable standards in the Code of Ordinances, and acting as the designated contact for responding to complaints made by neighbours against the rental tenants. The Local Responsible Party also endorses the affidavit of compliance (Sec. 13-94(c)) and its contact details must be posted near the entrance (Sec. 13-95(j)). The definition of the term and any location requirement for the Local Responsible Party are in Article I, which hasn't been reviewed yet.

Section 13-96(a) limits overnight occupancy to two persons per sleeping room plus two persons, up to a maximum of ten persons in a unit, while also complying with the occupancy limits in Chapter 10, Article IX, section 10-57; a City inspector confirms the number and size of sleeping rooms and the maximum guests. The number of people allowed to gather may not exceed one and one-half times the maximum occupants registered on the Certificate of Use and Occupancy, and never more than fifteen persons regardless of bedrooms. The tabulation excludes a maximum of four persons under the age of ten. When any registered guest is under twenty-one, a registered guest at least twenty-five years old must be present at all times.

Section 13-95(b), which applies to both standard and short-term rentals, requires all automobiles to be parked at all times in an approved off-street parking space or driveway on the property and prohibits parking on a swale, lawn, landscape area, within the public right-of-way or on a sidewalk. Parking in the right-of-way is allowed where spaces are marked for on-street parking, but not overnight (10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. under section 13-93). The maximum number of approved vehicles and a site plan of approved spaces must be posted near the entrance.

Section 13-95(a) requires a swimming pool, spa or hot tub to meet the Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act (Florida Statutes chapter 515), all dwelling units to meet the current Florida Building Code, and a portable multi-purpose dry chemical 2A:10B:C fire extinguisher, installed, inspected and maintained under NFPA 10, on each floor or level of the unit. Section 13-96(b) adds hard-wired emergency lighting at the primary ingress and egress of each inhabitable structure on a short-term rental property.

Section 13-95(f) requires all registered guests and other occupants to abide by the noise standards in Chapter 15, Article I of the Code of Ordinances, and section 13-95(c) requires waste handling to follow Chapter 10, Article II. Rules on waste containers, storage, screening and curbside periods must be posted near the entrance. The noise and waste chapters themselves, including any quiet hours, haven't been reviewed yet.

Section 13-95(j) requires a posting at a prominent location near the entrance to the unit with: the property address; the Local Responsible Party's name, address, phone number and email; the maximum occupancy, distinguishing registered guests from visitors; the maximum number of approved vehicles and a copy of the site plan showing approved spaces; waste management rules; the location of the nearest hospital and police station with the 911 and non-emergency numbers; a legible copy of the rental Business Tax Receipt and Certificate of Use and Occupancy; and a legible copy of Chapter 13. Section 13-95(d) also requires the rental unit to include a clearly visible posting of the requirements for tenants.

Section 13-96(d) says any advertising of the short-term rental must conform to the information in the Certificate of Use and Occupancy, particularly the maximum occupancy, and that a reference to the approved Certificate of Use and Occupancy must be included in all advertising. The property owner or designated representative has a continuing obligation to give the City all venues and websites on which the unit is listed.

Section 13-95(i) makes it unlawful to obtain a Business Tax Receipt for another business while the property is approved as a rental under the article, and says no one shall engage in any commercial or non-residential activity at a rental. It describes such activity as manufacturing, storing, distribution or repair of merchandise; allowing employees, clients or customers on the premises; using the property address to advertise anything other than the rental; posting signs for another use; and using the property in any way recognizable from the street or abutting properties as a deviation from its residential use.

Section 13-95(h) makes it unlawful for rental housing to be occupied by a sexual offender or sexual predator if so determined under Chapter 15, Article X of the Code of Ordinances. The chapter reached from that cross-reference hasn't been reviewed yet.

Section 13-97 processes violations under Part II, Chapter 2, Article V of the Code of Ordinances. Non-compliance with any provision is a violation, and each day a violation exists is a separate violation, except that maximum occupancy violations count as a single violation for a rental period. Fines imposed under this section cannot be reduced by the Special Magistrate. The City Commission declares maximum occupancy violations and non-residential or commercial use violations irreparable or irreversible, so the Special Magistrate may fine up to $15,000.00 per violation. The City may also seek other remedies, including suspension or revocation, injunctive relief, liens and other civil and criminal penalties, and referral to other agencies. The base fine schedule in Chapter 2, Article V hasn't been reviewed yet.

Under Sec. 13-97(d), for violations within twelve consecutive months, the Development Director or designee may suspend a short-term rental Certificate of Use and Occupancy and Business Tax Receipt for up to 30 calendar days on a second violation, up to 180 days on a third, up to 365 days on a fourth, and an additional 30 days for each further violation. A certificate is also subject to temporary suspension beginning five working days after a citation or notice of violation for a Florida Building Code or Florida Fire Prevention Code violation, until a reinspection shows the violation is gone. The rental may not be rented during a suspension, which starts at the end of the current lease period or within 30 days, whichever is earlier, unless the special magistrate decides otherwise; operating during a suspension is a violation with a daily fine of up to $1,000.00 or the Florida Statutes maximum for repeat violations, and no renewal application may be filed during a suspension. Under Sec. 13-97(e), the certificate may be revoked when more than two violations within twelve consecutive months involve the maximum persons standards, the lack of a supervising adult, or advertising inconsistent with the article, or after a single offense involving a felony or misdemeanor charge on the property that resulted in injury to an occupant or visitor or involved a drug-related charge. Appeals go to the Special Magistrate, and the property is not eligible for approval for twelve months after a revocation.

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.