Short-term rentals in Fort Pierce, explained properly.

Sec. 22-503 defines both terms and says a rental unit is synonymous with vacation rentals and short-term rentals and is subject to all requirements imposed on them. Rental units include condominium, apartment and cooperative units and single-family through multi-family dwellings. The definition of vacation rental lists units in a condominium or cooperative and single-, two- or four-family houses or dwelling units. The article also defines the owner (owner of record at the St. Lucie County Property Appraiser and Clerk of Court) and the responsible person (an owner, management company or individual named to receive complaints).

Under Sec. 22-510 the application includes owner and responsible person contact details (including a 24-hour emergency phone), the property and rental unit address, a copy of the recent profile from the property appraiser and an active Sunbiz registration for corporate ownership, the parcel identification number, the property type (single-family, duplex, triplex or quadplex, or condominium), maximum occupancy, the number and location of onsite parking spaces, an exterior site sketch and an interior building sketch (bedrooms, extinguishers, alarms, egress and living spaces), the Florida DBPR license number if applicable, the Florida Sales Tax Identification Number, the St. Lucie County Tourist Development Tax Account Number, the St. Lucie County Business Tax Receipt if applicable, payment of all applicable fees, verification of no pending code enforcement proceedings and proof of no outstanding balance due to the City.

Sec. 22-512 requires an amendment of the registration when any of these changes is proposed: an increase in the maximum occupancy; an increase or decrease in the number of parking spaces, or a change in their location; or a change in ownership, management company or responsible person. Sec. 22-509(c) also asks the owner to notify the City of a new owner, manager or responsible person within ten business days.

Secs. 22-513 and 22-514 set an annual term and renewal on the anniversary date of initial registration. The renewal consists of a completed renewal application, a copy of current state required licenses, updated management company or responsible person information, verification of no pending code enforcement proceedings, verification of no outstanding balance due to the City, an attestation that no modifications have been made to the unit, and all applicable fees.

Sec. 22-515(a) lists four grounds: a registration obtained by fraud, false statement or misrepresentation; failure to satisfy the article's standards and requirements; failure to obtain required state approvals or a City business tax receipt, if applicable; and three orders of violation from the special magistrate within the same fiscal year. The clerk's office decides within 30 days of a completed application; if the clerk does not mail or personally deliver notice of the decision, the registration must be issued immediately. A denial or revocation can be appealed to the city commission by a written statement filed with the clerk within 14 days after notice is mailed. An applicant whose registration was denied or revoked and who stays under the same ownership may reapply after 12 months. Sec. 22-506(q)(3) also lists failure to follow the sexual offender provisions as a ground for revocation.

Sec. 22-509 requires the owner to name a management company or responsible person on a City form; the owner remains responsible for compliance with all state and local laws. The designee must respond to all calls within one hour; three failures within a 12-month period end that entity's ability to manage the unit for the owner for 12 months. The owner must notify the City of a new owner, manager or responsible person within ten business days.

Sec. 22-503 defines maximum occupancy. For a building rented in its entirety it is one person for every 200 square feet under air-conditioned space. If only a room or rooms are rented, or the owner or another person also occupies the unit at the same time, it is one person for every 150 gross square feet of the room or rooms rented. A person means any individual over the age of five years. The maximum occupancy goes on the registration, must be posted in the unit and must appear in advertising.

Sec. 22-506(i): the minimum on-site parking for dwelling rentals is one nine-foot six-inch by 19-foot space. The maximum for a single-family dwelling rental is based on the number of dedicated spaces of that size on the lot. In multi-family settings the maximum is limited to spaces specifically assigned to the rental unit, unless documentation shows no spaces are assigned. No overnight on-street parking is allowed for the responsible person, renters or guests, on-street parking is limited to marked and designated areas, and no on-site parking is allowed on grassed surfaces, including boats and recreational vehicles. Spaces and maneuvering areas must meet the surface material requirements in Sec. 125-315.

Sec. 22-506 requires rental units to meet the Florida Building Code, Florida Fire Code, Florida Life Safety Code, FEMA rules and the Code. A working smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm system must be present and maintained. A portable multi-purpose dry chemical 2A:10B:C fire extinguisher must be installed and maintained under NFPA 10 on each floor. Halls, entrances and interior stairways must be clean and lit with rails on all stairways and a safe, continuous, unobstructed path to the exit. At least one landline or cellular phone able to call 911 must be available. Pools, spas and hot tubs offered as an amenity must meet the Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act (F.S. ch. 515) and the Florida Building Code screening requirements. Occupants must evacuate promptly on any evacuation order.

Sec. 22-506(l). A commercial event is an event held to make money or at a hired venue where attendees are charged entry, such as parties, entertainment events and attractions (Sec. 22-503). Fireworks are allowed only as Chapter 18, Article II of the Code and Florida Statutes permit (Sec. 22-506(m)).

Sec. 22-511 requires all advertising for rental units to show the city rental unit registration number, the maximum occupancy limit and the maximum parking available as specified on the registration, plus a link to the good neighbor brochure provided by the City. Sec. 22-506(o) separately requires the City-issued business tax receipt number on all print and internet advertising. An ad missing this information or containing inaccurate information is a violation for each day the ad runs.

Sec. 22-506(r) lists nine items to be provided in the unit within ten feet of the front door and available for inspection: the responsible person's name, address and phone; the maximum occupancy; the maximum number of vehicles with a sketch of the parking spaces; trash pick-up days and times (trash may not be put out before 6:00 p.m. the day before pick-up and containers must be removed by 6:00 p.m. on pick-up day); the location and contact information of the nearest hospital and police station; a legible copy of the rental unit registration; a copy of the rental unit business tax receipt; a copy of the article; and a copy of the agreement between the owner and the occupants for the rental period.

Sec. 22-521: police, code enforcement and designated employees enforce the article. A citation under Chapter 1, Article II, Division 3 goes to the tenant or occupant, one for each separate violation, as a class II violation. A notice of violation under Division 2 goes to the property owner (with copies to the management company or responsible person), follows any violation of the section or a citation to a tenant or occupant, is treated as irreversible and, under F.S. 162.09(2)(a), may result in a fine of up to $5,000.00 per violation. Each consecutive day a violation continues may be a separate violation. Three orders of violation within a fiscal year are a ground for denying or revoking the registration (Sec. 22-515).

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.