Short-term Siesta rental violations on the rise

Sarasota County Code Enforcement Officer John Lally is in charge of monitoring Siesta Key for all sorts of code violations — but this summer’s explosion of short-term home-rental violations is occupying most of his time.

Siesta’s hotels and condos aren’t like your average motel, Lally said. Many times the rooms are booked for several months in advance. The overflow of tourists looking for a place to stay has to go somewhere else, he said, and renting a home with its own amenities is an attractive option.

Short-term house rentals are allowed if the accommodation is zoned RMF (residential multifamily), but private homes are not allowed to be rented for less than 30 days.

Last year, 10 rental violations occurred all summer, Lally said. But this summer, he’s already handled 56 cases since June and has another 25 to sort through sitting on his desk. Since Siesta was named the No. 1 beach, Lally said he’s seen a 25% to 30% increase in tourists, and they are coming even outside of the regular season.

Before, short-term rental problems had been something Lally looked for near the beaches and in the Village from January to April, but now he is seeing more on the north end of Midnight Pass Road, between Beach Road and Higel Avenue. He’s worked on Siesta for eight years and never dealt with a rental issue there, but now he’s working on five cases in that area.

“It started spilling into the residential neighborhoods,” he said. “That’s what surprised me.”

The draw for Realtors and homeowners is apparent: They can charge more for daily or weekly rentals than for monthly rentals. Lally said he’s seen some homes listed online for $600 to $700 a night.

Neighbors tip Lally off about possible rental violations, but he said he has to have evidence to determine if the home is being rented illegally. Lally checks rental websites, such as VRBO.com. VBRO stands for Vacation Rentals by Owner. About 10 different websites advertise rentals on the Key. He also monitors properties for rental signs.

“It’s time consuming,” Lally said.

Some homeowners use these homes for their own vacations, and when they’re not there they rent them. Others buy a home as an investment and then rent it out. Either way, if the property is found in violation, the property owner is the one who is fined, not the Realtor managing the rental. If the court finds the owner in violation, the owner can’t get fined for past activity but can get fined up to $250 per day for continued illegal rental, and $250 for not following the court order.

“Most of them know what’s going on — they’re getting the receipts of the rental dates from the Realtor — but if they actually know how the ordinance is written? I’d say some of them don’t, but some of them do,” Lally said.

He also has to monitor repeat offenders to make sure they don’t continue renting out their homes illegally.

“It’s really changed. It started off with monthly rentals, then weekly, and now daily,” Lally said. “Everybody wants to come here.”