Manatee County Gets OK To Resume Vacation Rentals

BRADENTON, FL — Manatee County has won approval for its vacation rental plan days after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gave the OK for the state's 67 counties to submit plans to restart their stalled vacation businesses.

Thursday's decision clears the way for landlords to once again begin collecting rent on thousands of properties in the county.

"Out of the 8,000 short-term accommodations in our county, approximately 7,200 are vacation rentals so this was an important step in our recovery process," Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Manatee County Convention & Visitor Bureau, told Patch.

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The plan permits vacation rental agencies to accept bookings from residents of U.S. states with an overall coronavirus case rate within their home states of fewer than 700 cases per 100,000 residents based on data compiled as of May 15.

The governor left no room for interpretation with respect to his intentions regarding people coming from places where coronavirus outbreaks have been among the most severe.

"If you tell me you're going to rent them out to people from New York City, I'm probably not going to approve that," DeSantis warned last week. "If you are saying you are going to rent it out to people in other parts of Florida or something that would be manageable ... then I'm fine."

Manatee County property owners are prohibited from accepting reservations from coronavirus hot spots "identified by the governor" for the next 30 to 45 days. Property owners are also prohibited from taking reservations from international travelers.

Falcione said the first approvals went to counties in the Florida Panhandle earlier this week. Manatee County's plan was unanimously approved by the county commissioners on May 19 prior to being sent to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation as well as to the governor's office.

"Most other west coast counties were approved in the last 24 hours," Falcione said Thursday. You can read the Manatee County plan here.

"Our vacation rentals will begin to book business as early as tomorrow, including Airbnb business," Falcione added on Thursday.

Manatee County Administrator Cheri Coryea said people who spot potential problems with vacation rentals can report them to the county.

“Because vacation rentals have been closed during the pandemic, we're asking that vacation rental managers take extra precautions to make sure their renters have access to and follow the guidelines in the approved plan," Coryea said.

She said property owners should make sure their renters are familiar with the key provisions of the plan as well as any local restrictions that may apply.

"Having a smooth transition in all cities and across the county is extremely important for our success," Coryea said.

For more information, visit the county website or call 941-748-4501.