Short-term rentals in Hallandale Beach, explained properly.

Each dwelling unit needs its own certificate of use application with the legal description, owner and agent contact details (the agent's number must be a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week line), and acknowledgements about vehicles, noise limits in Chapter 19, compliance with all laws, curb-side trash timing (not before 6:00 p.m. the day before pickup, removed before 9:00 p.m. on pickup day), trespass, and not using adjacent properties. It also needs proof of ownership, proof of current registration with the Florida Department of Revenue for sales tax and with Broward County for Tourist Development Tax, a current Broward County business tax receipt, current Florida DBPR licensure as a transient public lodging establishment, proof of compliance with the agent duties in section 7-474, an authorization letter if an agent applies, a sketch of the parking spaces and a scaled interior floor plan. An incomplete application is rejected and any application fee is forfeited.

Section 7-469 does not state amounts; it refers to a resolution. The fee schedule hasn't been reviewed yet, so confirm current fees with the City.

Renewal follows section 32-14 of the Code, which hasn't been reviewed yet.

Section 7-470 lists a change in gross square footage, the number of sleeping rooms, the maximum occupancy, the number or location of parking spaces, the number of bathrooms, and any other material modification that would increase intensity of use or change information in the original application.

All violations found at the initial inspection must be corrected and pass re-inspection before the initial vacation rental certificate of use is issued. After issuance the unit is re-inspected annually, and failure to correct deficiencies within 30 calendar days results in suspension of the certificate of use until corrected and re-inspected.

Section 7-485 treats rental agreements entered into before adoption as vested, and section 7-467 sets the dates: before February 17, 2016 for the single-family districts RS-5, RS-6 and RS-7, and before February 21, 2018 for other districts.

The register lists all guests and the year, make, model, color and plate numbers of vehicles authorized to remain overnight, and must be available to city staff at all times.

The overnight limit is confirmed by on-site city inspection. The gathering limit does not apply to owner-occupied vacation rentals when the owner is physically present. Up to four persons under 13 years old do not count toward either limit.

The agent must meet these and all Florida Statutes, Building Code, Fire Prevention Code and federal standards, and the most restrictive applies. The noise-sensing device must notify the agent when noise exceeds Chapter 19 limits. Violations of section 7-476 can bring suspension starting three working days after a citation if uncorrected.

Occupants and visitors must also follow the parking codes in Chapter 32, which hasn't been reviewed yet.

Notice of the location of the trash containers must be posted by the main entrance.

Also required: sea turtle nesting season notice where applicable, and a building evacuation map of at least 8 1/2 by 11 inches next to each bedroom's interior door.

A citation follows a reasonable warning. Fines come on top of suspension or revocation of the registration and certificate of use, and the City may also use a special magistrate, injunctions, abatement, liens and other remedies. Service of notice on the agent counts as service on the owner and occupant.

Violations of section 7-476 or the Florida Building or Fire Prevention Codes lead to suspension starting three working days after a citation if not corrected, until corrected and re-inspected. Revocation is governed by section 32-19 and appeals by section 32-20, 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.