Short-term rentals in Longboat Key, explained properly.

A certificate is issued on the date of inspection approval and is current and valid until two years from that date unless suspended, cancelled, revoked, transferred or terminated. A renewal application must be filed at least 30 and not more than 60 days before the certificate expires, on the Town's form with the renewal fee. If the renewal is filed on time, the current certificate stays in effect until the renewal is approved or denied. If it is not filed on time and the certificate expires, a unit that keeps renting is in violation. An incomplete application has 30 days to be completed or it is deemed withdrawn and fees are refunded. An owner or designated responsible party can terminate a certificate by notifying the Planning, Zoning and Building Department. A change in the number of bedrooms or maximum parking can be added to an issued certificate for a re-inspection fee after inspection.

Within 30 days after submitting an initial or renewal application, the owner or designated responsible party must contact the Town to schedule an inspection. Failure to complete the application process, including a satisfactory inspection or re-inspection, within 30 days after the initial inspection results in a denial. The owner or responsible party present signs the inspection report, and refusing to sign counts as a failed inspection. A code enforcement officer can also inspect an existing rental to investigate a violation; if access is denied or the inspection cannot be done within 30 days, the certificate is suspended until it is done. Transient public lodging establishments with a valid Florida DBPR permit are exempt from this inspection section. Safety information listed on the Town's Inspection Checklist must be posted in each rental, on a single page or in a tabbed notebook.

Chapter 115 says the fees for registration, modification, transfer, renewal and re-inspection are set by the Town Commission and adopted by resolution. The fee resolution or schedule, with its effective date, was not available to us, so no amounts are listed here. The Town's payment page for the Residential Rental Registry says there is a 3% convenience fee for credit and debit card payments made online, by phone, or in person.

The Town FAQ says rentals of real property require registration with the Town prior to any business transactions and obtaining a Business Tax Receipt, and that additional county taxes may also apply. It directs questions to the Town Clerk at 941-316-1999. The business tax receipt rules and amounts in the Town code were not available to us, and this FAQ answer is the only source, so the rule is open. This page does not total taxes.

On a change of ownership or a transfer of the designated responsible party, the owner must notify the Town of the new owner, designated responsible party, or both within 15 business days. The new owner and responsible party must comply with all requirements of Chapter 115 for the certificate to be transferred, and a transfer fee is collected when the certificate is requested.

An owner may designate an agent (for example a property management company) as the designated responsible party to manage the unit, and the agent must accept the designation on a Town form. The responsible party answers for maintenance and responds to inquiries or complaints about the conduct of occupants, and is held to the same standard as the owner for compliance with state and local law and may be cited. The owner remains responsible for complying with state and local laws, and can withdraw the authorization by submitting a new form.

Vehicles associated with the rental are parked within a driveway on the premises or a designated parking area and in compliance with the Town Code. Rentals on properties accessible only by vessel provide on-site vessel parking such as a boat dock or boat lift, and any vehicles are parked in designated parking areas. Parking requirements are also part of the inspection.

Any advertisement for rental of a registered unit, including print and internet advertising, must include the Town-issued certificate number and the minimum stay requirement. An advertisement that lacks the required information or contains inaccurate information is a violation.

Code enforcement officers enforce Chapter 115 under Chapter 33 of the Town Code and Chapter 162, Florida Statutes, and may use discretion based on the gravity of the violation, corrective action taken and previous violations. Each day of a violation is a separate offense. The Town FAQ says owners, rental agents and even tenants may be cited with fines of $100 for the first offense, $250 for the second and $500 for each later offense for renting residentially zoned property for periods under 30 days, and that repeat violations can lead to a lien. The fine amounts come from the FAQ only; the code section that sets them was not available to us.

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.