TEMPLE TERRACE \u2014 Short-term rental owners in Temple Terrace will soon face inspections, fees and strict occupancy limits under a sweeping new ordinance approved by the City Council on Dec. 16.<\/p>\n
The council voted unanimously on second reading to approve the measure, which for the first time establishes citywide rules for roughly 150 short-term rental properties operating in Temple Terrace.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur overall goal is simple: ensure that short-term rentals operate safely, fit appropriately within our neighborhoods and contribute positively to the community,\u201d said Jack Shanks, the city\u2019s code compliance director.<\/p>\n
Like many cities across Florida, Temple Terrace has seen a rise in properties being listed for short-term stays on platforms like Airbnb and VRBO. Many of them are responsibly managed, but others have generated issues. The city says it has fielded a growing number of complaints in recent years, including overcrowding, excessive noise, improper trash disposal, illegal parking and unpermitted construction or electrical work creating unseen dangers.<\/p>\n
Shanks said the ordinance was developed after researching similar ordinances around Florida. Pinellas County\u2019s model served as the primary framework, he said, with adjustments made to \u201cencompass the unique needs of our city.\u201d<\/p>\n
The key elements of the new ordinance include:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Requiring all short-term rental operators to apply for and maintain an annual certificate of use.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Requiring property inspections by the fire department to confirm compliance with Florida building codes every two years.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Charging a $200 yearly registration fee per property to offset the city\u2019s inspection and administrative costs.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Imposing strict occupational standards like two people per bedroom plus two additional occupants, a ban on lawn or grass parking, and clear posting of health and safety information inside the unit.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The 24\/7 availability of a local responsible party to respond to emergencies, with contact information posted inside the unit near the main entry door.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Mandatory quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m., to preserve neighborhood peace.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Requirements for advertisements to disclose license\/certificate numbers, occupancy limits and parking rules so guests have clear expectations before booking.<\/p>\n
Enforcement will be handled by the city\u2019s code enforcement board, with penalties that may include fines, certificate revocation and property liens.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery short-term rental operator must follow the same rules, meet the same standards, and hold the same certificate of use,\u201d Shanks said. \u201cThis prevents unregulated operators from undercutting compliant ones, and creates a fair, competitive marketplace for everyone who plays by the rules.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parking enforcement was one of the primary concerns raised by the City Council. Shanks said that violations such as excessive vehicles at a property will be addressed immediately, and failure of a responsible party to respond could result in suspension or revocation of a certificate of use.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have multiple avenues to stop illegal rentals until they become compliant again,\u201d Shanks said.<\/p>\n
Several residents applauded the new ordinance while urging the City Council to pass it.<\/p>\n
Neil Oakes, a resident of Temple Terrace since 1983, said he lives next door to a \u201cmulti-family home, vacation rental, motel, whatever you want to call it,\u201d and cited traffic and unpermitted construction and electrical work as just some of his concerns.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s a whole host of reasons why this place needs to be shut down, and this ordinance will help do that,\u201d he said. \u201cI don’t fault anybody here. It’s just unfortunate what’s happened. \u2026 It’s going to spread throughout Temple Terrace unless we take back control of our single-family residential areas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Karen Waugh said on her street, a new neighbor was welcomed a few years ago only to leave and turn his home into a short-term rental with a steady stream of people coming in and out that raised safety concerns.<\/p>\n
Shanks said the new rules do require sex offender background checks for rental applicants.<\/p>\n
The city said it will notify all current short-term rental owners well before the rules go fully into effect on July 1. A detailed fines schedule is being developed.<\/p>\n
\u201cA $50 fine is nothing,\u201d said Council member Gil Schisler. \u201cIt\u2019s going to have to be significant.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TEMPLE TERRACE \u2014 Short-term rental owners in Temple Terrace will soon face inspections, fees and strict occupancy limits…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1076,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[49540,276,712,8993,49542,135,137,136,8609,47233,49541],"class_list":["post-92525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-air-bnb","tag-hillsborough-county","tag-law","tag-occupational-safety-and-health","tag-regulatory-compliance","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-temple-terrace","tag-vacation-rental","tag-vrbo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92525","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=92525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}