Short-term rentals in Jacksonville Beach, explained properly.

Sec. 34-731(b) lists these as required, initially and on a continuing basis, along with the City certificate: (2) a county business tax receipt from the Consolidated City of Jacksonville / Duval County; (3) a local business tax receipt from the City of Jacksonville Beach under Chapter 15 of the City Code; (4) a Florida Department of Revenue certificate of registration for collecting and remitting sales surtaxes, transient rental taxes and other taxes; (5) a Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation licence as a transient public lodging establishment; (6) an active account with the Duval County Tax Collector for tourist development taxes and other taxes; and (7) an affidavit of continuing compliance with the City's standards, the Florida Fire Prevention Code, the Florida Building Code and F.S. 509.215. Chapter 15 (City business tax receipt) was not read, and neither were the County's business tax or tourist development tax pages, so their amounts are not shown here. The state-level licence and tax rules are in the Florida section of this page.

Sec. 34-731(e) requires each property owner seeking initial issuance, annual renewal, transfer of ownership or modification of a certificate to submit an application with the fee. The City's application packet says a certificate is nontransferable between owners, and that a change of ownership requires the new owner to obtain a transfer certificate for the dwelling unit. A transfer can also trigger a reinspection (Sec. 34-731(f)(2)).

The local fire official or designee performs inspections and is allowed entry as permitted under Sec. 34-731 or Secs. 10-3.04 and 10-3.05 of the City Code. Inspections are by appointment with the responsible party. Once a certificate is issued, the unit may be reinspected at transfer of ownership, modification, or on a complaint about noncompliance with the Florida Fire Prevention Code, Florida Building Code or F.S. 509.215.

Sec. 34-731(c)(6) and (g) require a designated responsible party, who may be the owner or licensed agent or any person 18 or older who can perform the duties. Duties: be available at the listed phone number 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, within a 25-mile radius; if necessary come to the unit within one hour after notice from an occupant, the owner or a City official; accept service of legal notices for violations; produce the executed lease for current occupants; and check the unit at least once weekly. There is only one responsible party per rental at a time, and the owner must notify the City in writing on the City's form before changing the designation. The City's application packet states a two-hour response time instead of one hour. The two official sources differ on the response time, so this rule is marked for review; the code text says one hour.

Sec. 34-731(c)(2): minimum off-street parking is the maximum occupancy divided by four (one space per four transient occupants), with all fractions rounded to the next higher whole number. Parking may not block a sidewalk or designated urban trail. Properties with legal nonconforming parking are grandfathered for two spaces, and grass parking is permitted only on those properties where paved parking is unavailable. Garage spaces count if the space is open and the occupants are given vehicular access. A maximum of four cars may be parked at a short-term vacation rental property at one time. The lease must state the number of vehicles allowed, not above the off-street spaces shown on the certificate.

The certificate is posted inside the unit's window closest to the front door, facing outward (Sec. 34-731(d)(5)). A single-page notice on the back of or next to the main entrance door, or on the refrigerator, must give: the responsible party's name, address and phone; maximum occupancy; notice that quiet hours are to be observed between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. daily or in compliance with any and all city regulations; the maximum number of vehicles and the location of off-street spaces; solid waste and recycling pick-up days; notice of sea turtle nesting season restrictions and sea turtle lighting usage as applicable; emergency numbers for local police and fire; and the location of the nearest hospital (Sec. 34-731(i)). The lease must state the maximum occupancy, the number of vehicles allowed, a statement that occupants must evacuate on any posted evacuation order, and the statutory notice about sexual offenders and sexual predators (Sec. 34-731(h)). The responsible party keeps an executed copy of each lease for review by City officials on request.

Sec. 34-731(c)(7): any advertising must conform to the information in the registration certificate and the property's approval, particularly maximum occupancy, and must include the statement that it is unlawful for a sexual offender or sexual predator to occupy the residence in violation of F.S. 775.215, which precludes such residency within 1,000 feet of any school, child care facility, park or playground.

Sec. 34-731(c)(3): rentals supply the approved solid waste collection container under the City's franchise agreement and place receptacles at the curbside unless the franchisee agrees to another location; Chapter 27 applies. Sec. 34-731(c)(8): any other standards in the City Code and Chapter 34, including noise limits, setbacks, stormwater and similar provisions, apply.

A certificate holder must apply annually to renew by October 1 of each year (Sec. 34-731(e)(2)). If nothing has changed since the most recent certificate, no additional submittals accompany the renewal or transfer application. A modification application is needed if the unit's gross square footage increases, the number of bedrooms is proposed to increase, or occupancy is otherwise proposed to increase; a required inspection must pass before the change takes effect, and the current certificate stays valid meanwhile.

Sec. 34-731(j)-(k): any noncompliance is a violation of the City Code, and each day a violation exists is a separate violation, with occupancy violations governed by subsection (j)(1). Enforcement is a progressive program: warnings for first violations with reasonable time to correct, then a notice of violation or citation. Fines per violation follow F.S. 162.09, and the code enforcement special magistrate may hold hearings, assess fines and order other relief under F.S. Chapter 162 and the City Code. The City may also seek injunctive relief, liens and other civil and criminal penalties. The dollar amounts in F.S. 162.09 were not read here.

Failure to comply with any requirement of Sec. 34-731 is grounds for revocation or suspension of the certificate (Sec. 34-731(d)(6)). After an inspection, all violations must be corrected and reinspected within thirty calendar days; failure to do so suspends the certificate until the violations are corrected and reinspected (Sec. 34-731(f)(2)). If the inspector is denied admittance, or the unit fails to pass in three attempts, a notice of failure of inspection goes to the owner address; for an initial inspection the certificate is not issued. A missed appointment can bring a "no show" fee set by City Council resolution.

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.