A chance to affect short term rental issues

I had a former neighbor who conducted all of their rental transactions in Texas. Advertised and collected there. Seems they may have found a loophole.

And their rental properties were located in SoWal?

Wait just a minute..... someone can have a vacation rental in SoWal (neighboring counties as well I presume), not collect a bed tax, and neither the county or the TDC can verify or enforce the property owner to collect? Or worse, the property owner can collect the tax and pocket it? Tell me this is incorrect please.

Well this just gets more and more interesting...

Interesting, indeed. I would love to hear where/when/how this data became exempt from public records.

Back to original topic: should local or state have control over vacation rentals? Geez, I am usually in favor of local control on everything, but given the corruption in Walton County as well as Tallahasse, I really don't know.

Wait just a minute..... someone can have a vacation rental in SoWal (neighboring counties as well I presume), not collect a bed tax, and neither the county or the TDC can verify or enforce the property owner to collect? Or worse, the property owner can collect the tax and pocket it? Tell me this is incorrect please.

This too is my understanding.

No one tracks this...

Has anyone contacted the clerk of court about this?

This thread is seriously cracking me up.
I could expound on why the bed tax is exempt from public records, but...it's not my problem anymore.

This thread is seriously cracking me up.
I could expound on why the bed tax is exempt from public records, but...it's not my problem anymore.

Just for fun, please enlighten us as to why the bed tax is exempt.

Just for fun, please enlighten us as to why the bed tax is exempt.

Yeah For Fun, Do It For Fun!!!!

Here is the statute:

Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine

Here is the statute:

Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine

Thanks, that was fun.

The problem is that people will actually have to read something to learn the truth....

Thanks, that was fun.

The problem is that people will actually have to read something to learn the truth....

Bob beat me to it. Basically, a county that elects to self-collect and self-administer the TDT must follow the same rules as the Florida Department of Revenue for disclosure. Ever tried to get anything out of DOR? And (can't believe I'm going to defend them) the Clerk's Office does have enforcement powers. I did it by myself for almost 18 years. Now I'm off to other adventures and I understand they now have three people for that function. Karma...

Even more interesting is that Okaloosa is giving collection of the TDT back to DOR. DOR's enforcement agent for the Panhandle retired and I do not know if his position was filled or not. So if you want to get away with noncompliance, go to Okaloosa.

Even more interesting is that Okaloosa is giving collection of the TDT back to DOR. DOR's enforcement agent for the Panhandle retired and I do not know if his position was filled or not. So if you want to get away with noncompliance, go to Okaloosa.

Or just stay put right right here in Walton......

And their rental properties were located in SoWal?

Uh, yeah.

Bob beat me to it. Basically, a county that elects to self-collect and self-administer the TDT must follow the same rules as the Florida Department of Revenue for disclosure. Ever tried to get anything out of DOR? And (can't believe I'm going to defend them) the Clerk's Office does have enforcement powers. I did it by myself for almost 18 years. Now I'm off to other adventures and I understand they now have three people for that function. Karma...

THANK YOU for your many years of service. And thank you for explaining the tourist tax as you did.

You seriously should write a book, change the names, etc. Make it a "novel".

Back to the original question which is should local rentals be governed/controlled by local or state government? Sounds like local is better?

THANK YOU for your many years of service. And thank you for explaining the tourist tax as you did.

You seriously should write a book, change the names, etc. Make it a "novel".

Back to the original question which is should local rentals be governed/controlled by local or state government? Sounds like local is better?

Back to the original question which is should local rentals be governed/controlled by local or state government? Sounds like local is better?

If the past several years of financial mismanagement of the Planning Department and other LOCAL government agencies is any indication, this would not be a good place to entrust the collection of bed tax. The TDC Code Enforcement is real good at verbal and written warnings, yet we get no bang for the buck.

One would hope that local government would "work" for the people and in this case, ensure there are no freeloaders conducting rentals, but they just don't seem to care about collection of developmental fees so why worry about Bed Tax?

If the State had someone to handle this, they'd earn their salary in Walton County in about one month.

With more and more "vacation rentals" migrating to lower weekly rent properties north of 30A, now that everyone owns the beach, HOA's with weak Covenants and Restrictions and fully funded swimming pools..., we'll see more people open their homes to renters and this will cause more problems that our local sheriff and other governmental agencies will say they can do nothing about and kick the can.

If the Better South Walton Group were smart, they'd regroup and rethink this as it is going to become a real problem in the next two years.

If you want to collect bed tax locally, it has to go through a constitutional officer. In Walton and Bay and many others, it is the Clerk of Court as they have authority to audit. The BCC, TDC, County Admin, etc is not involved in it at all, and legally cannot be.

I would, however, like to see collection of the bed tax turned over to the Tax Collector's Office. Bet you'd see some boots on the ground then.

If you want to collect bed tax locally, it has to go through a constitutional officer. In Walton and Bay and many others, it is the Clerk of Court as they have authority to audit. The BCC, TDC, County Admin, etc is not involved in it at all, and legally cannot be.

I would, however, like to see collection of the bed tax turned over to the Tax Collector's Office. Bet you'd see some boots on the ground then.

Great Idea.

How do we get that task assigned to Rhonda Skipper's Team?

Get the BCC to pass an ordinance naming the Tax Collector the collection agent instead of the Clerk. However, Rhonda used to assure me she didn't want it as they also took on driver license, weapon permits, etc. Rumor has it though that, if Rhonda chooses not to run again, her probable successor is game.

Yes, I should write a book.

This is what I love about Walton County. There is ALREADY a "probable successor" in all of this. Friends and Family Plan at its best.

I like the idea of the locals, other tenants and neighbors simply reporting the violators to the State and hope they get hit hard. Sort of like a bounty.

This is what I love about Walton County. There is ALREADY a "probable successor" in all of this. Friends and Family Plan at its best.

I like the idea of the locals, other tenants and neighbors simply reporting the violators to the State and hope they get hit hard. Sort of like a bounty.

If you follow personnel in the other offices the way you do the sheriff's office, then you know who is likely to run for Tax Collector when Rhonda chooses to hang it up. Hint: if you leave Walton County and go to work for the constitutional officer in Bay County, you don't have to take a leave of absence to run.

And the State simply does not have the manpower. I and my colleagues in Bay and Okaloosa County were fortunate back in the day to have a DOR Enforcement officer to work jointly with us. He retired.

RIGHT NOW. CALL YOUR STATE REPS.

ATTENTION! ATTENTION! ATTENTION!

THE TIME IS NOW. TODAY. NOT TOMORROW.
TOMORROW IS TOO LATE. WRITE ALL THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS TODAY. INCLUDING YOUR LOCAL STATE REPRESENTATIVE AND STATE SENATOR, ASKING THEM TO SPEAK TO THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS ON YOUR BEHALF.
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"Please contact ASAP all Florida House and Senate Committee members, State Rep, Mel Ponder, and State Senator, George Gainer; before they vote to destroy locals' ability to control its own destiny and quality of life. All emails are listed below.

I am sharing this from another's Facebook Page, in case no one else has sent it to the Line yet...

'THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT – Please READ and SHARE this information with your friends, family and any social media venues you have access to ASAP! This is time sensitive because the committees (in TALLAHASSEE) will be voting on this issue on Monday (4/17) and Wednesday (4/19) of next week

Dear Friends and Neighbors:

There is a very important bill pending in Tallahassee that could have a dire impact on our quality of life here in Destin and throughout Florida.

******The Senate Bill is S.B. 188 and the House Bill is H.B. 425. These bills are being pushed by the vacation rental websites like Homeaway, AirB&B, and VRBO. What it will do, if passed, is take the right away from counties and cities throughout the state to locally regulate single family short term rental properties.

At the bottom of this e-mail I have provided the committee members e-mail addresses in a manner in which you can copy and paste them in your e-mail program should you want to e-mail your opposition to these bills which I respectfully request that you do.

The following is a letter sent by our City Manager, Mrs. Carisse LeJune, to these committee members in opposition to these bills. I thought by reading her letter you would have a better understanding as to the reasons these bills should be strongly opposed.

"To the Honorable Members of the House Commerce Committee:

On behalf of the elected City Council and residents of the City of Destin, Florida, we respectfully request that you OPPOSE HB 425.

· In 2011, the Florida Legislature prohibited cities from regulating short-term vacation rentals. A short-term vacation rental is defined as a property that is rented more than three times a year for less than 30 days at a time.

· In 2014, the Legislature passed SB 356 (Thrasher), which diminished the preemption on short-term rentals. The law allows local governments to adopt ordinances specific to these rentals so that they can address some of the noise, parking, trash and life-safety issues created by their proliferation in residential neighborhoods.

· The Hotel Next Door – Commercial Activity in Residential Neighborhoods: Houses that sleep 26 people are now present in what were once traditional neighborhoods.

· Because of the inability to regulate the duration of a renter’s stay, these houses could experience weekly, daily or even hourly turnover. Obviously, the constant turnover of renters creates a number of issues for cities and neighboring property owners.

· Because a city cannot “prohibit” these properties, they are powerless to exclude them from residential neighborhoods. As a result, investors, many of whom are located out of state or even in a different country, have purchased or built single-family homes with the sole intent of turning them into short-term rentals.

· Cities use zoning as a tool to prepare for their future growth and also use it to control where commercial and residential properties are located. Hotels have different infrastructure needs than single-family residential properties.

· Now there are houses in single-family residential neighborhoods that sleep more people than the number originally planned for, placing a significant strain on existing infrastructure. In most cases, the driveway was built to accommodate two or three vehicles. When you now have a renovated house that acts as a small hotel, there will be more than three cars needed to get these renters to the property.

· Commercial properties like bars, hotels and restaurants typically need more parking than a single-family property, as well as have different operating hours and experience greater noise levels and trash generation.

It is not the intent of the Destin City Council to infringe upon personal property rights. But it is the local government’s responsibility to protect the health, safety and welfare of ALL property owners in the City. This is done through regulatory process and procedure. By not allowing our municipal government to regulate short-term vacation rentals, our full-time residents in traditional residential neighborhoods are negatively impacted and their property values and quality of life is diminished. Please OPPOSE HB 425!

On behalf of the Destin City Council, thank you for your consideration of our request.

Carisse LeJeune
City Manager
City of Destin, FL
Phone: (850) 837-4242
Fax: (850) 650-9250

clejeune@cityofdestin.com<mailto:clejeune@cityofdestin.com>
www.cityofdestin.com<http://www.cityofdestin.com/>"

Members of the House Commerce Committee:

loranne.ausley@myfloridahouse.gov; Bryan.Avila@myfloridahouse.gov; lori.berman@myfloridahouse.gov; Halsey.Beshears@myfloridahouse.gov; Nicholas.Duran@myfloridahouse.gov; Joe.Gruters@myfloridahouse.gov; bobby.payne@myfloridahouse.gov; jim.boyd@myfloridahouse.gov; danny.burgess@myfloridahouse.gov; jose.diaz@myfloridahouse.gov; Dane.Eagle@myfloridahouse.gov; Katie.Edwards@myfloridahouse.gov; Eric.Eisnaugle@myfloridahouse.gov; joseph.geller@myfloridahouse.gov; tom.goodson@myfloridahouse.gov; james.grant@myfloridahouse.gov; bill.hager@myfloridahouse.gov; Blaise.Ingoglia@myfloridahouse.gov; Evan.Jenne@myfloridahouse.gov; Sam.Killebrew@myfloridahouse.gov; Mike.LaRosa@myfloridahouse.gov; Kionne.McGhee@myfloridahouse.gov; Mike.Miller@myfloridahouse.gov; Jared.Moskowitz@myfloridahouse.gov; Kathleen.Peters@myfloridahouse.gov; Rick.Roth@myfloridahouse.gov; Sean.Shaw@myfloridahouse.gov; Richard.Stark@myfloridahouse.gov; Jackie.Toledo@myfloridahouse.gov; Jay.Trumbull@myfloridahouse.gov

Members of the Senate Community Affairs Committee:

bean.aaron@flsenate.gov; brandes.jeff@flsenate.gov;campbell.daphne@flsenate.gov; clemens.jeff@flsenate.gov;
lee.tom@flsenate.gov;
perry.keith@flsenate.gov; rodriguez.jose@flsenate.gov; simmons.david@flsenate.gov


Again, as a reminder - Please note the committees will be voting on this issue on Monday (4/17) and Wednesday (4/19) of next week so again please share this as soon as possible.'"

I don't know why we wouldn't want the state to regulate short-term rentals? If left to this BCC I don't think they would see any problems with the mayhem that the mixed use is causing residential areas. Absentee owners come in and purchase homes in quiet neighborhoods that are zoned residential and turn the property into commercial use and the county says nothing.

If you look at what they are doing with Uber and Lyft it is taking any opportunity for regulatory control from the local jurisdiction. That is just my opinion.