{"id":416982,"date":"2026-10-02T18:06:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T18:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/416982\/"},"modified":"2026-10-02T18:06:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T18:06:10","slug":"brickell-owners-want-miami-to-stop-illegal-short-term-rentals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/416982\/","title":{"rendered":"Brickell owners want Miami to stop illegal short-term rentals"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Partygoers<\/p>\n

Partygoers stumble back at 4 a.m. March 30, 2026, to The Club at Brickell Bay, 1200 Brickell Bay Dr., Miami. The Club and the city of Miami are fighting over short-term rentals in the building, which the city says are illegal.<\/p>\n

Linda Robertson<\/p>\n

lrobertson@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n

Winter is coming, and with it swarms of Airbnb visitors, warned residents at a standing-room-only Brickell Homeowners Association meeting who pleaded for a crackdown on illegal short-term vacation rentals in their condos.<\/p>\n

City of Miami Commissioner Damian Pardo and Miami-Dade County Commissioner Vicki Lopez assured residents they are working on solutions, including more rigorous code enforcement by the city and regulation by the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur government has neglected a big problem that\u2019s gotten out of control, and our leaders must come forward with a plan,\u201d Brickell Homeowners Association President Ernesto Cuesta said. \u201cLet\u2019s stop dancing around the terminology. These are illegal rentals, illegal lodging, and if there are no consequences, we are going to continue sinking in the same boat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Guests Guests arrive at The Club at Brickell Bay, a Miami condo cited for operating illegal short-term vacation rentals. Residents want more aggressive enforcement by city officials to curb the chaos. Carl Juste Provided by resident <\/p>\n

Pardo, who represents Brickell as part of District 2, has requested short-term rental records from the city manager and city attorney\u2019s offices to get a handle on how many are operating in Miami, one of the most popular Airbnb destinations in the world.<\/p>\n

\"Commissioner Miami Commissioner Damian Pardo requested short-term rental records from the city manager and city attorney\u2019s offices to get a handle on how many are operating in Miami. Alie Skowronski Miami Herald file <\/p>\n

The city bans short-term rentals of less than 30 days in multifamily residential condos unless the building is certified as a condo hotel, which requires more stringent standards for security, safety, fire protection and accommodations for people with disabilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are looking for proactive measures to try to stem this,\u201d Pardo said during Tuesday\u2019s meeting. \u201cWe are completely open to all of you. If you are suffering from these problems, come into our office so we can further address this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lopez, a longtime Brickell resident, said she is using her experience as a former state legislator to urge the secretary of Florida\u2019s Department of Business and Professional Regulation to conduct more investigations of illegal vacation rentals, \u201cwhich is affecting communities across Miami-Dade,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She wants to forge a stronger county-state partnership with the department, which oversees compliance with the Florida Condominium Act.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not just a quality-of-life issue,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cIllegal short-term rental activity creates serious safety and security concerns for residents who deserve to know who is coming in and out of their buildings and to have confidence that applicable laws and regulations are being followed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Miami-Dade Miami-Dade County Commissioner Vicki Lopez wants to work more closely with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, the state agency that oversees condos, on illegal short-term rentals in Miami-Dade. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

Cuesta said the city is reacting to pressure from residents following Miami Herald articles about The Club at Brickell Bay, a 43-story condo tower that\u2019s been transformed into an Airbnb hotspot with an \u201cAnimal House\u201d atmosphere. The Club\u2019s board and property management company run the 643-unit building like a hotel, and 85% of the units are rented nightly despite lacking required state and local permits, licenses and business tax receipts<\/p>\n

READ NEXT: \u2018Save your condo before it\u2019s too late.\u2019 How Miami condo turned into \u2018Animal House\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe city claimed it couldn\u2019t do much, but they have been forced to understand that a building that is not authorized to do lodging cannot do it, period. If the building doesn\u2019t have certification, it\u2019s breaking the law, period,\u201d Cuesta said. \u201cThe positive thing is that the city now realizes it has to do something. Residents are facing major life safety risks in their own homes.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the meeting, other Brickell condo owners spoke about problems in their buildings.<\/p>\n

Former Miami Code Enforcement Board chair Yvonne Bayona, who is president of the Historic East Shenandoah Homeowners Association, encouraged the city to revive a task force on short-term rentals that former commissioner Joe Carollo created. Pardo said he has approval and will do so.<\/p>\n

Bayona also described enforcement hurdles that Miami code compliance inspectors must overcome, such as being denied entry into condos by front-desk attendants.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the city says inspectors can\u2019t cite illegal rentals because they lack access, that is false, that is an excuse for giving up or not coming out,\u201d Cuesta said. \u201cIf I call in a code complaint, I\u2019m giving access as an owner in my building. I can invite the inspector in, same as I would the fire department or police.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following the Herald\u2019s stories, Assistant City Manager Barbie Hernandez sent a letter to The Club\u2019s HOA board on Aug. 11 stating that the building was being operated like a hotel and demanding that all illegal vacation rentals \u201ccease immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ NEXT: City orders Miami condo to \u2018cease immediately\u2019 all illegal vacation rentals<\/a><\/p>\n

Board members, who pledged better management and more harmony when they were elected in June, then requested city records and a 90-day grace period to examine them.<\/p>\n

On Thursday at 3 p.m., the board held its second HOA meeting since receiving the city\u2019s letter and updated residents about its improvement plan \u2014 repairs to the pools, jacuzzi, parking garage and elevators, as well as tighter security and monitoring of guests and the dress code by front desk staff.<\/p>\n

During the eight-minute meeting, the five board members \u2014 none of whom live in the building, but all of whom own and manage units listed on Airbnb and other vacation booking sites \u2014 appointed new members to the grievance and design committees, without taking nominations.<\/p>\n

When one resident asked why no one had a chance to apply or vote \u201cso we could all actively and democratically participate in the selection,\u201d board president Maria Sindia Borras explained that The Club\u2019s bylaws allow the board to appoint committee members.<\/p>\n

When another resident asked why she wasn\u2019t considered for a committee she had served on previously, Sindia Borras replied, \u201cBecause we don\u2019t have to.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was no discussion of the city\u2019s demand letter. Residents say short-term rentals continue unabated.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published October 2, 2026 at 12:08 PM.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Partygoers stumble back at 4 a.m. March 30, 2026, to The Club at Brickell Bay, 1200 Brickell Bay…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":416983,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-416982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=416982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416982\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/416983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=416982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=416982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=416982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}