301 S. Bronough Street, Suite 300 ● Post Office Box 1757 ● Tallahassee, FL 32302-1757
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Florida League of Cities Issues Statement on HB 1011 – Short-
Term Rentals
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 21, 2020
CONTACT: Brittni Johnsen
[email protected]om / (850) 701-3652
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. –The Florida League of Cities, the united voice for Florida’s municipal governments,
issued a statement of concern in response to the passage of HB 1011:
“The Florida League of Cities agrees with 75 percent of Floridians who believe short-term rentals should
be regulated at the local level. However, today’s decision by the House Workforce Development and
Tourism Subcommittee to pass HB1011, which preempts short-term rental regulation to the state, goes
directly against what a supermajority of residents believe. The League is concerned that legislators are
not listening to what Floridians want: the ability to have local voices make local choices about short-
term rentals to directly address problems in their communities. Legislators must recognize that what
works for Key West or Miami may not work for Gainesville or Pensacola.
During committee testimony, the League presented House members with a number of ways to amend
the bill to successfully balance state and local control. HB 1011 should be amended to protect
homesteaded and owner-occupied properties by focusing on investor-owned and LLC-run properties
that typically bring the majority of public safety incidents. We also suggest a transparent and flexible
structure for fines to ensure they have the desired effect of punishing repeat offenders that continue to
be a nuisance to neighborhoods. Lastly, creating a partnership with the Department of Business and
Professional Regulation would allow the DBPR to contract with cities to provide enforcement and help
preserve the character of our communities.
Allowing cities to have a voice in this process will help ensure any legislation regulating short-term
rentals balances the rights of ALL property owners and not just those of the investor-owned ‘mini-
hotels’ that are negatively impacting Florida neighborhoods.
This is a critically important issue for cities, and the Florida League of Cities will continue to ensure the
voices of our members are heard.”
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Founded in 1922, the Florida League of Cities is the united voice for Florida’s municipal governments. Its goals are
to promote local self-government and serve the needs of Florida’s cities, which are formed and governed by their
