Come January, short-term vacation rental owners will have to register their properties with Hillsborough County.
Commissioners on Wednesday passed a law for short-term rentals, which include Airbnbs, in unincorporated areas of the county. The law, effective Jan. 1, requires owners to register their property with the county, pay a yearly fee and pay fines if guests violate code enforcement rules.
Commissioner Harry Cohen proposed the ordinance. He said he came up with it after hearing of large parties that disturbed other residents. Cohen asked Wednesday for a report 90 days after the law goes into effect to see how the ordinance is doing, so commissioners could adjust restrictions if they want.
“This really is just the beginning of the process,” Cohen said. “But it’s a very meaningful step forward that is going to give the neighborhoods some relief.”
Cohen said in August that he wants the ordinance to be effective before the “high-volume times of the year,” which are the winter season and spring break.
Under the ordinance, a property owner must pay $200 to register yearly with the county to use their property as a short-term vacation rental. An owner also must have someone who can go to the rental within an hour of a reported violation and be available 24 hours a day for any issues.
The county can inspect properties, too. If inspectors find a violation, a property owner or manager would have to fix it within 30 days. Any guests at short-term rentals must also be informed of noise, trash, recycling and parking rules.
Hannah Schultze, an asset manager who works with property owners, guests and tenants, said during public comment Wednesday that the commission could be “losing sight of who is going to bear the burdens” of the ordinance with the yearly fee.
“The people with the deepest pockets can pay the fees, hire attorneys and absorb another regulation,” Shultze said. “The little guy cannot.”
Commissioner Joshua Wostal, who voted in support of the ordinance, asked if owners must pay the $200 each year. The initial registration fee of $200 is fine, Wostal added.
Cohen said the commission could later review if it wants to adjust the yearly fee amount.
Mark Kiddo, another speaker on Wednesday and who lives in Bay Crest Park west of Tampa, praised the ordinance and said it was progress. But, he added, “progress is not the finish line.” He previously said he wanted the commission to strengthen the ordinance, similar to that of Pinellas.
Pinellas strengthened its ordinance early last year. The county requires short-term vacation rentals to have a certificate of use under its ordinance, which sets rules for maximum occupancy, parking, noise and trash in unincorporated areas of the county.
It also requires a property owner to name someone to be on call and responsible for any code violations, according to Pinellas’ website. Pinellas requires a regular mandatory inspection and application fees for owners, as well as an inspection before a property is OK’d for short-term rentals.
Hillsborough will collect tourist development tax money from registered short-term rentals. The county estimates a gain of about $600,000 in the first fiscal year the ordinance is effective.
Hillsborough’s rule also gives city governments, such as Tampa, the option to opt in to the same rules. Tampa City Council members expressed interest in the ordinance in two August meetings. And last week, council members asked city legal staff to review and update the council on Hillsborough’s ordinance at its Nov. 5 meeting.
“Right now, it’s kind of like a free-reining world of Airbnbs,” City Council chairperson Alan Clendenin said in August.
