Longboat exempt from drafted vacation-rental bill

Longboat Key residents who may be worried about a new legislation filed in the Florida Senate banning short-term rental restrictions and stripping some grandfathered local laws can rest easy.

State Sen. Greg Steube’s vacation rental bill in its current language would only affect municipalities that have had vacation rental laws in place after June 11, 2011. That doesn’t apply to the island, said Town Attorney Maggie Mooney-Portale.

Owners aren’t currently allowed to rent their homes out more than once every 30 days, as on many area barrier islands, but Town Manager Dave Bullock said the Key hasn’t faced any flagrant cases or issued a single citation.

Further, because more than 70% of the island’s housing units are condos, most of those owners would be subject to vacation-rental restrictions solely through their owners’ association.

“It is an issue for us, but compared to other communities, it’s not a huge issue,” Bullock said.