Short-term rentals in Deerfield Beach, explained properly.

The registration form must include: (a) a copy of the City business tax receipt (Chapter 38, Article VII, Division 5); (b) a copy of the vacation rental's current registration with the Broward County Tourist Development Tax Section; (c) a copy of the Florida DBPR license as a transient public lodging establishment/vacation rental; (d) a copy of the Florida Department of Revenue certificate of registration, if the registrant has one; (e) copies of the required postings; (f) a completed responsible party application with name, address and 24-hour phone number; and (g) a properly executed and notarized affidavit agreeing to comply with Sec. 98-106. If the form is incomplete, the registrant is notified and has ten days to correct it. The registration form itself hasn't been reviewed yet.

Sec. 98-106 sets the fee by city commission resolution rather than stating an amount. The fee schedule hasn't been reviewed yet, so confirm the current registration and renewal fees with the Planning and Development Services Department.

After the first registration, renewal is due by October 1 each year. The registrant files a notarized affidavit, on a City form, stating that nothing has changed or identifying the specific changes with supporting documents, and pays the renewal fee. Any change to the registration information or submittals must be reported to the City within 30 days on a City form, signed by the registrant.

Each vacation rental dwelling unit may be occupied by no more than one "family" as defined in Sec. 98-3, and in no event may occupancy exceed two persons per bedroom plus two additional persons. The Sec. 98-3 definitions haven't been reviewed yet. The rental agreement must repeat this limit.

Pools, spas and hot tubs must meet the Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act (Chapter 515, F.S.). If the unit has no interconnected, hard-wired smoke and carbon monoxide system, one must be installed and maintained under Florida Building Code-Residential R314 and R315. A portable multi-purpose dry chemical 2A:10B:C extinguisher must be installed, inspected and maintained under NFPA 10 on each floor or level. Battery emergency lighting must illuminate the primary exit automatically for at least one hour. Halls, entrances and stairways must be clean and ventilated, runners kept in good condition, and rails installed on all stairways and around porches and steps. Rentals already operating on February 20, 2018 had until October 1, 2018 to meet the life-safety standards.

The responsible party handles routine inspections and complaints. The duties are: be available by mobile phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week; if necessary, come to the rental within two hours after notice from an occupant, the owner or the City; be authorized to receive service of legal notices for violations of the section; and monitor the rental at least once a week. The owner can change the designation temporarily or permanently by notifying the City within 30 days of the change.

The rental agreement must contain, at a minimum: the occupancy language in Sec. 98-106(c)(2); a statement of the total number of parking spaces allowed for the vacation rental dwelling unit; and a statement that all transient occupants must evacuate following any evacuation order from local, state or federal authorities.

The single page goes on the back of or next to the main entrance door, or on the refrigerator. It lists the responsible party's name, address and mobile number; the notice that quiet hours are 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. daily (or as superseded by a later City noise regulation, Chapter 34, Article II); the maximum number of vehicles that can be parked, with a sketch of the off-street spaces; trash and recycling pickup days; sea turtle nesting season and lighting notice if the rental is on the barrier island; and the location of the nearest hospital. If the rental has three or more occupied floors, a building evacuation map of at least 8 1/2 by 11 inches must be posted next to the interior door of each bedroom on the third floor above ground level and higher floors.

Sec. 98-106(c)(6) applies any other applicable standards of the Land Development Code and Code of Ordinances, including Sec. 14-105 (exterior building and structure standards), Sec. 14-106 (yard and landscape areas), Sec. 58-69 (residential refuse), Sec. 66-58 (parking prohibitions on certain streets) and Sec. 98-74 (swimming pool enclosures). Those sections haven't been reviewed yet.

Any violation of Sec. 98-106 is a violation of the section, and each day it exists is a separate and distinct violation. The City may enforce under Sec. 1-15 of the Code of Ordinances, through the code enforcement process (Chapter 2, Article VI), or in any other manner authorized by law, and may seek injunctive relief, liens and other civil and criminal penalties as provided by law, as well as referral to other enforcing agencies. The specific fine amounts are in Sec. 1-15 and Chapter 2, which haven't been reviewed yet.

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.