FLORIDA – Beach cities battle illegal short-term rentals

Tampa Bay Times:  Beach cities battle illegal short-term rentals
By Sheila Mullane Estrada — December 3, 2013

ST. PETE BEACH — Renting single-family homes or condominiums to tourists for a day, week or month is against the rules in many beach communities, but hundreds of homeowners are violating those rules. Residents and business owners in St. Pete Beach and Madeira Beach are increasingly complaining to their city officials about disruptions to residential neighborhoods and lost revenues among hotels and inns. “This is seriously cutting into businesses that pay taxes on transient rentals,” John Brooks-Murray, co-owner of the Bay Waters Inn, told the St. Pete Beach City Commission last week. He said he found “hundreds of rentals in nontransient areas” online that are being rented by the day or week.

Some homes are rented for more than $500 a night — a rental income that can reach into the tens of thousands over the course of a year. An Internet search for vacation rentals in just St. Pete Beach on Tuesday yielded hundreds of homes and bungalows available for rent by the day or week at rates ranging from nearly $10,000 a week to as little as $50-$100 a night.  Read more:

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