The City of Fort Lauderdale’s (the “City”) Prohibition of Short Term Rentals

The following email has been circulating around the Ft Lauderdale area. In our opinion, it is doubtful that any such "Prohibition" would apply to the OM since, as a hotel, it is transient by nature. Any other opinions? ~ The Blog Team


December 07, 2010

RE: The City of Fort Lauderdale’s (the “City”) Prohibition of Short
Term Rentals

Dear Property Owners and Realtors:

The purpose of this letter is to apprise you of the City’s recent
actions in regards to short term rentals. In 2008, the City began
initiating code enforcement proceedings before the City’s Special
Magistrates against property owners who were engaging in short term or
vacation rentals on their property. In this regard, the City has and
continues to:

1) issue citations for code violations due to short term rental;
2) demand the cessation of rentals; and
3) Impose fines unless short term rentals are ceased.

Every property owner should be able to open up the City’s Code of
Ordinances and understand what is and what is not permitted with
respect to their property. However, there are currently no ordinances
in the City of Fort Lauderdale regulating short term or vacation
rentals.

I am contacting you because, as a property owner in the City, I
believe property rights need to be recognized and appreciated. It is
fairly common for a number of residential areas within the City to
provide short term housing for families staying for extended vacations
or during the season. In fact, there are hundreds of advertisements
for short term and vacation rentals throughout the City. Moreover,
there are dozens of realtors who assist visitors in finding the
perfect home to stay in for weeks or months at a time. The City has
taken the position that all of this activity is illegal, despite the
City’s failure to regulate it or provide any sort of laws or
guidelines to that effect.

The reality is that property owners who provide short term rentals for
tourists to come and stay in Fort Lauderdale to vacation (and spend
their time and money), are providing a service which is distinct and
separate from services provided by traditional hotels or motels. These
days, people may prefer to stay in a neighborhood as opposed to a
hotel because of the savings in cost, the size of their family, the
ability to accommodate pets, their desire to cook their own meals, or
a multitude of other reasons.

Having said that, the tourism industry remains a vital component to
Florida’s economy – in 2009 alone, over 80 million people visited our
state. Additionally, in 2008, the state of Florida generated more than
$65 billion dollars in tourism spending. It is clear that our state
and, in particular, South Florida, relies heavily on visitors to come
and enjoy our restaurants, shops, attractions and beautiful beaches.
It is equally clear that steps need to be taken to ensure that
visitors remain free to vacation and stay in homes in Fort Lauderdale,
should they choose to do so. Moreover, the City stands to lose
valuable and much needed revenue if this activity is halted, whereas
if rentals are regulated, the City stands to realize substantial gains
in revenue.
I believe the City should also take into consideration the
devastating economic circumstances facing our nation and our
community, in determining how to regulate the short term rentals of
property. As I am sure you all know, South Florida is facing one of
the highest foreclosure rates in the country. A number of property
owners are struggling to keep their homes and are forced to pay steep
property taxes, even while their property values are plummeting. It is
understandable, therefore, that owners of property (purchased for
investment or otherwise) may be engaging in short term rentals in
order to mitigate the costs associated with owning the property.
Additionally, if all of these homes which are currently being used for
short term rentals were forced into foreclosure, that would have a
devastating impact on the property values of homes in the same and
surrounding neighborhoods, driving the community into a further
recession.
I am contacting you specifically to request your participation in a
group which would encourage the City to reasonably resolve the issue
of short term rentals of property. More specifically, I believe a
group could be formed which would seek to achieve the following:
- First, a halt of enforcement proceedings until the City Commission,
in consultation with property owners, has a chance to design an
ordinance that permits and reasonably regulates short term rentals.
- Second, an effective campaign to the City Officials to ensure they
are aware of the devastating impacts a flat out prohibition of rental
would have on the City of Fort Lauderdale, due to the City’s heavy
reliance on the vacation, tourism and maritime industries; and
- Third, the drafting and proposal of an ordinance regulating short
term rentals which would provide for annual applications and fees to
the City, required inspections and tenant records, as well as the
payment of applicable county taxes and compliance by tenants of all
laws and ordinances (in particular, those related to noise and
parking).
Basic substantive property rights expressly protected by the Florida
Constitution are at issue, as well as decisions by the City that will
very likely effect the livelihood of many of us – therefore, we hope
that you will join us in our efforts to ensure those rights remain
protected. To that end, we have scheduled an informational meeting on
December 16, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Weston
Hills Country Club located at 2600 Country Club Way, Weston, Fl 33332
Phone (953) 384-4660

The goal of this meeting is to gather people together with one voice.
It is critical that this be a collective group effort because, as you
can imagine, one person’s voice may be heard, however, all of us
collectively would not be ignored. We ask that you RSVP in advance of
the meeting so that we may provide adequate accommodations for all in
attendance.

Additionally, please note that the City currently has a Short Term
Residential Use (“STRU”) Committee (information is available at
http://ci.ftlaud.fl.us/documents/stru/stru_agenda.htm) which will
determine how rentals in the City will be regulated in the future. It
is important to note that there are one or two individuals on this
committee who have been very vocal advocates of banning rentals
altogether, solely on the basis that they are opposed to it in their
neighborhoods. As such, it is critical to attend these meetings and
have your voices heard. We will inform you of the next STRU Committee
Meeting to be scheduled at the City Hall in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

We look forward to your input on this important issue. Please RSVP
Paul Vigil at pl.vigil@gmail.com


Sincerely yours,
Paul Vigil
4581 WESTON ROAD#375
WESTON, FL.33331

Letter I emailed to Rick, Our CAM

Rick,

I went to my unit #310 last night (12-11-10). The walls were vibrating from the loud music from the night club. I called the police, and they came and made the DJ turn down the music. Guess what? Something amazing happened. My unit stopped vibrating. Why can't Frank grow up and lower the music in the night club? The police made a police report (case # 10-134016), and they told me the only reason the did not issue a ticket is because it was a new Dj. They said the next time they will issue a ticket. If this continues and I loose revenue from my units I will have Joe file a civil law suit!! Please forward this e-mail to Frank and tell him to grow up!

Posted by Michael Bencivenga

General Bronze Question

Can someone please explain to me if new windows are being installed in the units that have not yet replaced their windows?

Is the board able to arrange that with General Bronze or do the unit owners involved have a say?

Posted by Anonymous

Open Letter to Jerry

Jerry,

DON'T unleash your anger on Mike as he has done nothing but speak the truth!

YOU lost your rental due to the ineptness of Frank and Charlie.

Jerry, I looked up your units and they're OCEANFRONT while Mikes's are CITYSIDE, so how does his problems and post bear on your rentals?

When's the last time you visited The Ocean Manor and saw the problems first hand?

TRIP ADVISOR comments by guest's have set the tone on rental loss, NOT Mike.

Frank is $250,000.00 behind in Condo Maintenance, if that was me, you or Mike, we'd be foreclosed on already.

Frank and Charlie made a loan from The Israeli Discount Bank in Aventura for 2 million dollars and have reneged on payment, and now the bank will be placing a reciever in the building.

To whom do you want Mike to go to?
Rick the Cam who can't say a word to Frank and Charlie?

Ask Frank how he's going to pay out the 7 Million he owes
THE HARD MONEY LENDER whom he borrowed from at 18% when he can't come with $250,000.00?

So between The HARD MONEY LENDER and
The ISRAELI DISCOUNT BANK, who's going to be running The Ocean Manor.

I understand your frustration Jerry, BUT PLEASE SEE THE LIGHT before you blow up at the good guy.

And yes Jerry, I'm anonymous, as that's my choice.

Posted by Anonymous

Night Club Noise Problem

This past weekend, I've had three different renters in three different units (209,319 & 301) call or email me regarding the extremely loud music coming from the new night club at Tokyo Blue. See below for the latest complaint that was e-mailed to me today.

Do not tell my renters to call me regarding noise that is coming from the Night Club. There is nothing I can do; however, you as the CAM can have them turn the music down! I contacted the Ft. Lauderdale Police Department and they said that there is a noise ordinance. The next time there is a problem, I will call the police.

These rentals are a big part of my income.If you are not the person that can handle this situation, put me in touch with Frank or whoever is in charge.

Mike Bencivenga

email received today:

Thanks Mike!! We had a great time except for the new night club Tokyo Blue playing their very loud music till 2:00 in the morning. The walls in our room were vibrating. So after the 2nd night I did call down to the front desk, and they said that there was nothing that they could do and to call you, because we were in a private room. I was not going to call you since it was 1:00am. So just an FYI for you.
Thanks again,
Dan and Michelle

Higher Guest Parking Fees?

The following post was originally submitted as a comment under the thread, "What's Going on at the OM." We thought it should be elevated to a new thread. The Blog Team


Ninety percent of the parking spots at the OM have been painted as valet only. Parking for guests is now $5.00 per day. Hope owners and guest enjoy there new and unique valet parking experience.

Posted by Anonymous

Has our President resigned???

A rumor has reached me in New York that our President has resigned. Can anyone confirm that? Maintenance arrears has been explained to me as the problem. This does certainly bear further examination...

Posted by
Donald J McLoughlin