Florida Realtors Urges Governor Ron DeSantis to Veto SB 280

Florida lawmakers passed Senate Bill 280 during the 2024 Legislative Session, despite significant concerns by a variety of stakeholders, including REALTORS®. The bill fails to strike a fair balance between the rights of private property owners to rent their property on a short-term basis and the ability of local governments to regulate these rentals. As such, Florida Realtors is asking Governor Ron DeSantis to veto SB 280. Click here to join the veto effort.

Short-term rentals should be regulated, but if this bill becomes law, that regulation would become a tool to discourage and limit short-term rentals throughout Florida. Vetoing this bill will allow lawmakers and stakeholders more time to work together towards a better balance of private property rights and local government regulation of short-term rentals

The main concerns with the bill are as follows:

• The bill creates a “tax” on short-term rental owners by allowing local governments to charge unlimited fees for registrations, renewals, and inspections.
• It fails to define “material” violations allowing local governments to suspend or revoke vacation rentals for minor infractions.
• It forces short-term rental owners to appeal disciplinary actions through the court system.
• It does not provide consumer protections to current or future short-term renters by notifying them that a rental has been suspended or revoked, leading to potential rental agreement violations.
• It arbitrarily limits occupancy levels which will cause large groups to reconsider vacationing in Florida.

A more detailed analysis of these concerns can be found in the following documents.