‘Just so over the top.’ Airbnb hosts in Bradenton push back on council’s proposed rules

City leaders are aiming to get a better handle on short-term rentals and some of the issues they bring to Bradenton neighborhoods by putting a new set of rules in place.

The proposal, which has been praised by neighbors and criticized by hosts, would enact regulations that, among other things, limit the number of guests allowed at a home and ensure city officials have someone to contact if problems arise.

Short-term rentals, such as Airbnb and Vrbo properties, allow property owners to rent out their homes to guests who plan to stay anywhere between a few days and a few months. Florida law prevents local municipalities from banning where short-term rentals may operate.

Bradenton officials estimate there are around 650 short-term rental properties active in the city. While some hosts choose to allow guests to sleep in an unoccupied bedroom in their home, many hosts rent out the entire house, creating a revolving door of visitors in residential neighborhoods with little supervision, city officials say.

In order to crack down on some of the main complaints they’ve heard over the years, the Bradenton City Council is set to consider a proposed ordinance that requires short-term rental hosts to provide key information to city staff before they can house guests. The move is meant to prevent common neighborhood nuisances, such as noise and parking concerns.

“99% of the people do this do it correctly, but there’s a small percentage that abuse the system and make us create these rules,” said Mayor Gene Brown. “The ones doing it correctly, it’s not going to affect at all, but the ones who aren’t will need to come into compliance. We’re just trying to manage and protect the quality of life for our residents.”

If the board votes to approve the program during a public meeting Wednesday morning, the city will begin to require short-term rental owners to apply for the right to continue operating their homes as temporary lodging establishments. That application will ask for several pieces of information and require owners to provide certain items and information in their rental properties.

Hosts push back on rental regulation

But opposition to the new system is already starting to take shape. Several short-term rental hosts who spoke with the Bradenton Herald said they believed the requirements would create more problems than they aim to solve.

Pointing to the popularity of cellphones, hosts have criticized the city’s decision to require a landline phone in the rental property. Rental owners have also taken issue with the requirement to keep a ledger of contact information for every guest they’ve hosted over the past two years.

“I strongly object to these requirements. I’m not going to pay to install a landline. That’s ridiculous. No one uses them anymore,” said Sally Wood McDonald, a Bradenton resident who has used Airbnb to rent out a bedroom in her home for six years.

“This is all just so over-the-top and really onerous on elderly people like me who count on Airbnb for extra income,” she added. “They’re going to find it impossible to comply with all of this.”

Bradenton City Council first discussed implementing a short-term rental licensing program last February. Board members said they have received complaints about certain rental properties that cram in as many occupants as possible. The Herald’s online search identified several short-term rental homes in the Bradenton area that advertise an ability to host at least a dozen guests.

City Attorney Scott Rudacille suggested that a licensing program could be the solution for some of those issues. About a year later, Rudacille has put together an ordinance that aims to implement the program.

How will Bradenton’s license program solve problems?

Between the application and the signage rules, there are more than 30 provisions that the city’s short-term rental license program will require hosts to follow.

For example, each rental will need to post the trash pickup schedule, the location of the nearest hospital, emergency evacuation instructions, a sign that notes how many cars are allowed to park on the property and other useful information.

According to the ordinance, one of the signs on the short-term rental property will also need to include the following message: “You are vacationing in a residential area. Please be a good neighbor by not making excessive noise or engaging in boisterous behavior, especially after 11:00 p.m. Such behavior can deprive your neighbors of the peaceful enjoyment of their homes.”

In most cases, neighbors don’t have any way to reach the person in charge when the guests cause problems. Bradenton’s licensing program hopes to tackle that problem head-on by securing a 24-hour contact for rental properties. If “conduct or behavior” issues arise, that person will be required to address them within one hour, city officials say.

Some neighbors have said they support the city’s attempt to add guardrails to the short-term rental market.

“There’s only so much the city can do, but at a certain point, you have to balance the integrity of the neighborhood,” said Dave Bouziane, a Bradenton resident who lives near an Airbnb property that has been the subject of noise complaints. “You can regulate them like a business because that’s what they are.”

When the board discussed what to do about short-term rentals last year, the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee expressed skepticism about the city’s ability to fix the system. With a draft ordinance finally available, the organization sent a letter to elected officials stating that it could not support rules that could “squeeze out” property owners from being able to exercise their private property rights.

“We are not confident that the City will be able to enforce a more complex regulatory scheme such as this one. Although, we are confident that if (the short-term rental licensing program) is adopted, it will be nearly impossible for small, individual property owners to viably rent out their properties due to the multitude of registrations requirements, inspections, duties and fees that this ordinance requires.”

Bradenton’s proposed rules would punish “law-abiding landlords,” said Wood McDonald. If the rules are approved, she might consider quitting her part-time gig as an Airbnb host.

“I’m not going to jump through all those hoops. I don’t make a fortune out of this. It’s a little money here and little money there,” said Wood McDonald, who is also a retired Realtor. “I enjoy it, but if the city is going to beat me up over it, I’m just not going to do it.”

Reached for comment, City Administrator Rob Perry pushed back on the idea that Bradenton’s new requirements would create too much of a burden for short-term rental operators or the city employees tasked with overseeing the program.

“When you think about it, how much work does it take to post the nearest hospital or the trash schedule? Most of these things aren’t difficult to achieve,” said Perry, who argued that while the list may seem long, many of the requirements have public safety in mind.

“If there’s a person that wants to turn their house into a business, well it doesn’t seem like we’re asking for unreasonable information,” he continued. “We do have to be concerned about community occupancy and public safety. In any business you conduct, there’s a certain degree of compliance.”

The Bradenton City Council will consider the proposed ordinance for a vote during a public meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 26. The meeting will begin at 8:30 at Bradenton City Hall, 101 12th St. W., in downtown.