TRD Special report: This is the first in a series of articles examining Airbnb’s impact on the Miami real estate market.
For $ 85 a night, you can rent a room in North Beach, about five blocks from Collins Avenue.
For $ 149 a night, you get a modern one-bedroom apartment with bikes, parking, washer / dryer, and full kitchen.
And for $ 300 a night, the lucky tenant gets a one-bedroom Brickell penthouse – parking included – within walking distance of the Metromover and Mary Brickell Village.
Airbnb is everywhere in Miami-Dade, from Homestead to Aventura.
Miami ranks among Airbnb’s top five markets in the United States, behind New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston. From October 2014 to September 2015, more than 55% of the $ 2.4 billion generated by Airbnb was captured in these five cities, CBRE reported earlier this year.
“Miami is one of our biggest US markets and certainly a larger part of our strategy,” said Christopher Nulty, spokesperson for Airbnb. The real deal. “We are really seeing increased growth in the market, but not just along the beach. “
Some cities in the United States have embraced the short-term rental service, while others have fought Airbnb head-on. The company, last valued at $ 25.5 billion in December, has operations in 34,000 cities in 191 countries. In Miami Beach alone, Airbnb orders 4,562 listings, according to the Airdna data website.
So, is Airbnb legal in Miami-Dade? Is it regulated? Are tenants taxed?
“I’m not sure anyone knows how to deal with it,” said Joe Hernandez, head of the real estate group at Weiss Serota.
Surveillance varies in South Florida
In Miami Beach, the city code allows vacations and short-term rentals (less than six months and one day), in certain zoning districts. But, they are prohibited in all single family homes and in a number of zoning districts. See a map here.
Raping (and getting caught) can result in fees and eviction of tenants and visitors. Depending on the city, fines range from $ 500 to $ 7,500.
In Surfside, short-term rental properties were required to be registered with the state as a temporary apartment, resort residence, or resort condominium as of 2011.
Surfside hosts are required to register for each rental period when their accommodation is rented, with a limit of three registrations per 12 month period. Rentals also entail tourist taxes. According to the city code, “qualifying properties are those that can demonstrate a current and consistent short-term rental history” and whose rental income is their primary source of income.
Tax short-term rentals
On December 1, Airbnb began collecting and submitting the 6% Florida resort tax, Nulty said TRD. The company also collects resort taxes in 27 separate counties in Florida. Miami-Dade is currently not one of them.
“We continue to have conversations with local authorities,” Nulty said. “Our position is that we want to work with as many governments and municipalities as possible to collect and remit tourist taxes. Our goal is to make life easier for our hosts and guests.
Miami-Dade County Commissioner Juan Zapata last month called on the mayor to strike a deal with Airbnb to collect county bed taxes from its users, including the tourism development tax and the travel tax. development of the convention.
The Zapata neighborhood includes the West Kendall Quarters, Hammocks, and the Country Walk, markets that aren’t flooded by Airbnb users. Zapata said that while he has not heard any complaints from his constituents, his goal is to “create value” from visitors who are currently staying in unregulated, untaxed short-term rentals.
The legislative landscape
Laws passed in Florida in 2011 prohibit local governments from regulating and restricting vacation rentals. Local governments also cannot limit the length or frequency of rentals. But all regulations prior to that date are still in effect, said Susan Trevarthen, municipal attorney at Weiss Serota. TRD.
In 2014, Palm Beach County sued Airbnb and other short-term rental companies over the collection of resort taxes. If those taxes were recovered, the cost of an Airbnb rental would increase by 12%, the Palm Beach Post reported.
And last fall, the city of Fort Lauderdale passed an ordinance regulating vacation rentals that are not timeshares. Now, properties registered with the city must pass a maintenance and life safety inspection.
Short term rentals are also being considered in the Florida Keys. Last year, the Monroe County Tourism Development Board released a report targeting Airbnb for not collecting the county sales tax and 4% resort tax on behalf of owners. The council report called on local governments to require the company to collect taxes. The county already requires licenses and rental permits for vacation rentals, as do the cities of Key West, Marathon and Islamorada.
The hotel industry on the defense
There are approximately 54,000 hotel rooms in Miami-Dade County and approximately 4,000 are planned for the next two years. Last year at least 11 hotels with 1,805 rooms opened. Industry experts say Miami’s hotel market could peak in 2016, as revenues and occupancy rates begin to stabilize.
On a hotel panel covering the impact of short-term rentals on the hospitality industry in April, Crescent Heights hotel developer and CEO Russell Galbut said the hospitality industry was “under attack.” Hoteliers called for the implementation of local taxes, as well as the regulation and enforcement of existing rules.
“Our position is not about Airbnb. These are illegal short-term rentals, ”said Peggy Benua, president of the Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association and CEO of Dream South Beach. “We want everyone to be on an equal footing. … We really have to go through hoops to get a professional license.
In condominiums or designated areas where short-term rentals aren’t allowed, enforcement can be a problem. In Miami Beach, there are two code enforcement officers dedicated to short-term rental violations.
On its website, Airbnb says it “strongly opposes large-scale speculators who turn dozens of apartments into illegal hotel rooms.”
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