Passed 2/1/24  

Let me start by staying, these may be some unpopular facts, and opinions. 

Aside from operating a property maintenance company with 940 service properties between PCB and Destin, I also own STRs in Florida and two other states. A lot of what I am seeing ( and reading on facebook, and elsewhere ) about the recently passed ordinances in Bay County, PCB and Walton County is much the same anger, frustration, confusion, and even relief for some, that transpired in these other areas when the same type of STR ordinances first passed there. That has been almost two years ago now, with my properties outside of Florida, and the ordinance remains in effect. 

At the end of the day I do not believe these ordinances are going away, and I don't believe that they should. 

The ability for local government to enforce reasonable regulations for situations that honestly have been abused, by some owners, for quite some time

is not a bad thing, in my opinion.

I am my own customer for the properties that I own out of state. 

I have a hired maintenance team, housekeeping, inspector, and yes... a Responsible Party company. 

If I am being honest, I will admit that being busy with work I did not have the same eyes on my properties then, that I do now. 

It leveled the playing field in a lot of situations. 

The lower end, under maintained properties fazed out. 

My neighbors can no longer pack 25 people into a 3 bedroom house. 

Now, on 4 or 5 occasions, my neighbor and I have worked together for combined bookings of larger groups that want to be next door to each other.... 

we both won! 

I do not see them backing up from any of these ordinances, and the state seems on track to lock everything in at a state level.  

I could see the possibility of a deferment of enforcement to ease the frustrations, but I don't see anything being rescinded. 

Contrary to things being posted online, this is not unique to Bay County, PCB, Walton County, or Destin. 

Almost every city and county in FL that has a STR market has passed almost identical ordinances. 

Florida followed what other states had done several years ago, and kicked the enforcement ability down to the cities/county level for rules that should have been enforced all along, but they did not have the labor force to do so. 

The people we have had the most direct experience with, that are doing the most complaining, are not the owners that keep their properties in good order. The owners that are totally absent, don't want to have to do, or enforce, anything with their properties are making the most noise that we have heard from directly. Those are also, coincidentally, the properties that after we do their Pre-Inspection are the furthest out of compliance, with no working smoke detectors, not a single fire extinguisher on site, overall disrepair, and requiring the largest investment to keep renting. 

With regard to self managing owners and the ability to navigate through this, it comes down to your interest, experience and ability. 

Yes it can be confusing at first appearance, but there is nothing in any of the local ordinances that makes it impossible for a self managing owner to handle every aspect of this themselves, including being their own Responsible Party. 

They DO NOT need to hire anyone to manage any of this for them, if they are capable (or interested) of managing it themselves. 

They DO NOT have to list their personal phone number, there are many very inexpensive apps for a VOIP phone services that can be forward with ease. 

They DO NOT have to personally visit the property, they do need a few local (dependable) 24/7 on call "people" so they have some options available for a 3am service call and someone to visit the property when they request it be re-inspected. 

The signage is cheap to print and laminate, templates are available online to make designing them simple. 

The fire safety checklist is public information and the compliance directions are pretty easy to follow. 

The alternative option is to hire a service company to handle all, or part, of these things for you. 

Some owners are not interested, nor or have the time, to put all of these pieces together.

I have often found In running a business, it is good to "know what you are good at" and delegate the rest to someone who is experienced and set up to handle it more efficiently. 

Neither of these options are wrong, It depends on your level of involvement with the moment to moment (not day to day) operations of the property. 

We have put together a reasonable Responsible Party Hosting Plan that will cover all of the bare minimum requirements for $99/mo. 

Some may say that it is too expensive, for others its a hundred bucks well spent to not have to worry about it. 

This obviously does not include visiting your property 3 times in a week for noise complaints at 3am... 

but it does keep the properties in compliance that may never receive a phone call. 

I learned from experience, as soon as we post any kind of contact number on a property we will receive calls that do not apply to us, or the ordinance. 

We have set up our system to patch calls through to owners (or their management company) for things like housekeeping, reservations, maintenance, and any other call that does not apply to the ordinance.  Our owners will also receive an email with a transcript of each and every call for their, and our, records.

We have built our field team to consist more of individuals with property and security background vs. only property maintenance or rental management. 

Lets face it, the majority of the calls that we will be reporting to will not be friendly visits to deliver good news. 

They are more likely to be for Noise Complaints (Parties) at 2am, Property over capacity with cars all over the neighbors driveway, or other disturbances. 

With the maintenance side of the company, when we respond at 2am to handle a maintenance issue the guests may be annoyed, but generally happy to see us ! On the other hand, when we arrive at 2am to break up a party of 30 drunk college kids (or their parents) and explain their reservation will be cancelled (and possibly fined) if they cant bring the property back into compliance, it his highly unlikely that we will be greeted with a smile or quick action. 

Either way, your Responsible Party should not abandon the "responsibility" of the assignment and leave the property before bringing it back into compliance. 

Some of these situations are not going to be something you want to send a young inexperienced property manager into.

To the other extreme, a hot-headed friend or neighbor is not a good option that could possibly escalate the situation. 

I think that it is an important point to think through, and legally understand the person that reports to your property on your behalf is a representative of you, your business, and you could be held legally responsible for their actions, or inactions. 

From my personal experience and after visiting extensively with others in my out-of-state market, as well as here in Florida, these ordinances will work to bring the rental value of your properies up by leveling the playing field of all properties .. and by giving the city/counties the ability to get rid of the the bad apples that repeatedly cause the most nuisance issues.

These are just our thoughts and opinions, 

Thanks For Taking The Time

Island Services

Short-Term Vacation Rental Certification Program

CLICK ON THE BUTTON BELOW TO ACCESS THE APPLICATION PORTAL

On Aug. 1, 2023, the Bay County Board of County Commissioners passed Ordinance 23-18 concerning registration, 

reporting, and inspection requirements for vacation rentals operating in the unincorporated areas of the county. 

In many cases, the ordinance simply solidifies the rules and regulations under which short-term rentals were already operating.

The ordinance mandates that any transient public lodging establishment, defined by state statute as a single-, two-, three-, 

or four-family house or dwelling, recreational vehicle or mobile home, maintain a Short-Term Vacation Rental Certificate issued by Bay County. 

Initial Inspection Fee  $250.00

Re-inspection Fee  $50.00

Lock-out Fee   $100.00

To obtain a certificate, the following criterion must be met:

• Proof of a Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DPBR) license
• A DBPR HR 7020 Balcony Inspection Certificate for any height over two stories
• Registration with the Bay County Clerk of the Court for Tourist Development Tax payments
• Completion of a Fire Safety Self-Inspection Checklist
• Post certificate number issued by Bay County when advertising on any platforms
• An interior sign or pamphlet indicating the following:          
  • Address of short-term rental
  • Name and phone number of managing party
  • Maximum occupancy based on the Fire Inspector’s evaluation of the dwelling’s floor plan
  • Notice of the county Noise Ordinance
  • A trash pickup schedule with the locations of trash containers
  • Sea turtle nesting season and restrictions information
  • Location of the nearest hospital with “Call 911 in case of emergency”
  • Beach safety flag notification instructions with penalties for violations
• An exterior sign indicating the following:
  • Name of managing agent and 24-hour emergency contact number
  • Short-term vacation rental certification number
  • Signage must be placed on the wall to be legible as viewed from the public right of way
  • Signage must be no larger than 18 x 12 inches

NOTE: Rentals over two stories in height must include an evacuation floor plan on each bedroom door indicating primary egress and secondary escape routes.