Short-term rentals in Madeira Beach, explained properly.

This is the definition in Sec. 34-502. The same section defines 'transient occupants' as any person, guest or invitee who occupies or controls residential property registered as a vacation rental, with a rebuttable presumption that anyone holding themselves out as an occupant or guest is a transient occupant. The City's Business License FAQs say biennial inspections are conducted on long-term rentals and that three-month and six-month rentals are long-term rentals that must still obtain a business tax receipt. The definition of 'residential property' is in section 82-2 of the land development regulations, which was not read.

Sec. 34-504 requires the application to set out at least: the legal description of the property; the owner's name, address and phone; the name, address and 24-hour, seven-day emergency phone number of the responsible party, who will answer that number at all times; the owner's acknowledgement of parking, noise, legal-compliance, curbside solid waste, trespass and no-shared-property statements; proof of current ownership; proof of Department of Revenue sales tax and county tourist development tax registration with taxes paid; proof of state lodging licensure; the City business tax receipt; proof of general liability insurance; proof of passing building and fire inspections; and the owner's sworn acknowledgement that the owner has received and understands the section. Submission of an incomplete application form results in rejection of the application. The registration application form itself was not read.

Sec. 34-505 says registration fees are set from time to time by resolution of the city commission, and Sec. 34-516 sets renewal dates and late renewal fees by resolution. The Code's fee schedule (Appendix A, Article II, item O) lists the Short-Term/Vacation Rental Certification Certificate of Compliance at $300.00 and ends with the history note Ord. No. 2025-18, § 1(Exh. A), 11-12-25. Only that one line was read; the effective date of the fee schedule, any renewal, late, re-inspection or no-show fee, and the Business Tax Receipt fee (Sec. 62-60) were not read, so this row is marked for review.

Sec. 34-516 says all registrations are valid for no more than one year and expire September 30 of each year, with renewal dates and late renewal fees set by resolution of the board of commissioners. Sec. 34-520 says that once a short-term rental is confirmed as legal, a certificate is obtained from the City, renewable yearly. The City's Business License FAQs say business tax receipts also expire September 30.

Sec. 34-515 says that when a dwelling unit used for vacation rentals is sold or otherwise changes ownership and the new owner wants to continue vacation rentals, the new owner must schedule and obtain an inspection before applying for a vacation rental certificate, and that certificates are not transferrable from one owner to another. Sec. 34-520 repeats that the certificate is not transferrable or assignable if the property is sold.

Sec. 34-509 requires an inspection of the dwelling unit before an initial certificate is issued; if violations are found they must be corrected and the unit re-inspected first. After issue, the unit is re-inspected annually, and for each inspection all violations must be corrected and re-inspected within 30 calendar days, with failure to correct resulting in suspension of the certificate until corrected and re-inspected. Inspections are by appointment with the responsible party, and a 'no show' fee is set by resolution. If the inspector is denied admittance or fails in three attempts, an initial inspection results in no certificate and a later inspection is treated as a violation. The City's Business License FAQs say annual fire inspections are required for any business the public may enter for a good or service, including all short-term vacation rentals.

Sec. 34-506 requires the owner to appoint a natural person who resides within 25 miles of the vacation rental property as the responsible party for service of notices, named on the application, with any change reported to the city clerk within 15 days. Duties include informing guests in writing of the City's noise, parking, garbage and common-area ordinances (with a copy posted near the main entrance), keeping the unit within occupancy limits, being available with authority 24 hours a day, responding to emergency calls within two hours, keeping a guest register open to City inspection, and keeping the property free of garbage and litter. Sec. 34-510 adds that the responsible party must be willing to come to the unit within two hours after notice from the City or code enforcement, receive notices of violation, and monitor the unit at least weekly; the city manager may suspend or revoke responsible party status. There is one responsible party per property at a time. The City's FAQ describes the contact as a property management company or someone in the Tampa Bay area; the Code's 25-mile standard controls.

Sec. 34-521(b) says sleeping rooms must meet the single- and two-family dwelling minimum requirements of the Florida Building Code, with two people per sleeping room, not including the living room. Sec. 34-506(2) also makes the responsible party keep the property within the occupancy limits of the Florida Building Code and the Code of Ordinances as determined by the building official, and Sec. 34-512 requires the unit's maximum occupancy to be posted.

Sec. 34-522 requires one off-street parking space for each bedroom, says recreational vehicles and accessory trailers are not permitted in driveways or other designated parking areas, says no recreational vehicle or other motor vehicle may be used for sleeping, and says on-street parking within the right-of-way is not permitted. Sec. 34-511(b) says occupants may only park in the spaces designated on the vacation rental certificate sketch, and Sec. 34-512 requires the maximum number of vehicles and a parking sketch to be posted.

Sec. 34-523(b) sets these quiet hours, with swimming pool, spa and hot tub use limited to 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. The owner also acknowledges on the application that noise must stay within the limits in Chapter 34, Article III (Sec. 34-504(5)b); that article was not read.

This is Sec. 34-523(c). How the City checks or enforces it is not stated in the sections read.

Sec. 34-512 requires the following to be posted on the back of the front door: the name, address, phone number and email of the responsible party; the maximum occupancy; the maximum number of vehicles and a sketch of the parking spaces; the nearest hospital and its phone number along with the county sheriff's phone number; a legible copy of the vacation rental certificate; a legible copy of the section; and a copy of the owner-occupant agreement for the rental period. Sec. 34-511(a) says occupants must receive a written copy of the section and the City's noise and trash regulations, and Sec. 34-511(c) says all occupants must evacuate on posting of any non-resident evacuation order.

Sec. 34-513 requires each unit to contain covered garbage container(s) provided by the owner, with curb placement following City regulations. Sec. 34-504(5)d has the owner acknowledge the 6:00 p.m. and midnight curb times, and Sec. 34-523(a) requires pickup service to be available through the owner or agent and says that when tenants leave, trash is not allowed on the curb until the day of service unless containers meet code.

Sec. 34-521 requires pools, spas and hot tubs to meet the Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act (F.S. ch. 515) and be screened by a six-foot, 100 percent opacity fence; an interconnected, hard-wired smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm system consistent with sections R314 and R315 of the Florida Building Code, Residential; a portable multi-purpose dry chemical 2A:10B:C fire extinguisher on each floor or level, installed and maintained to NFPA; and emergency egress maintenance and lighting and posted evacuation routes (the lines read for these two items give only their headings).

Sec. 34-517 treats non-compliance with any provision of the division as a violation, each day a separate and distinct violation, enforced through a progressive enforcement program focused on compliance and compatibility with adjoining properties. The City may also seek other remedies including suspension or revocation of the certificate, injunctive relief, liens and other civil and criminal penalties provided by law. Operating during a suspension is a violation subject to a daily fine of up to $250.00 for an initial violation and $500.00 for a repeat violation. A certificate may be denied, revoked or suspended by the city manager upon adjudication of a violation of the division, any city ordinance or state law by the responsible party, owner or transient occupant. Fine amounts for other violations were not read.

Sec. 34-517(d) provides for suspension by a special magistrate: a second violation of the division, 14 calendar days; a third, 30 calendar days; each additional violation, an additional 30 calendar days to a maximum of 12 months (a fourth violation 60 days, a fifth 90 days). A suspended vacation rental may not provide transient occupancy. Suspension begins at the end of the current lease period or within 30 calendar days, whichever is earlier, or as the special magistrate determines. For this purpose violations are counted per rental period or per seven days, whichever is less, and only where a code enforcement citation or criminal charge was issued. Separately, the city manager may suspend responsible party status for up to three months for minor violations, or revoke it for major or repeated violations, after which the owner may not reapply for six months (Sec. 34-510).

Sec. 34-518 covers appeals of a revocation or suspension of responsible party status by the city manager: the appeal is filed within 30 days of receiving notice by certified mail, with a fee set by resolution; failure to file in 30 days waives appeal rights. The special magistrate hears it, presumes the city manager's decision was correct, and may approve or deny. A petition for writ of certiorari may be filed in the circuit court for the county.

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.