Short Term Rentals Impacting Quality of Life
 

Have steps been taken to move forward an agenda to limit short term rentals in Sumter County or the residential neighborhoods of the Villages?

Air BnBs and VRBOs have inundated the housing community of The Villages, Florida. Currently there are 1,200 units utilized in this capacity. Two and three day temporary renters come and go in otherwise quiet neighborhoods degrading property values and use facilities that others pay for monthly and for the longer haul in expenses.


Sumter County should mirror nearby Clearwater Beach guidelines for renting. The city does not allow short-term rentals in residentially zoned districts. This means that residential property owners cannot lease or rent out their properties for less than 31 days or one calendar month. While residential properties can be advertised as monthly rentals, they cannot be advertised for daily or weekly rentals.


Residents involved pay amenities and additional long term costs to live in a gated community atmosphere for two person occupancy.

Are there petitions? Is county government involved yet? If not, does anyone have ideas to move the county forward towards compliance of the majority of voters needs?

"otherwise quiet neighborhoods degrading property values".....any factual support??


"Sumter County should mirror nearby Clearwater Beach guidelines for renting"....county wide guidelines??????...............good luck with that.

:posting:

We’ll just surround your house with rentals and you can tell us if life improved or if your property value increased….lol

There are streets in TV that do not allow rentals, they should make more of them for those that it bothers.

Good time to bail for STONECREST ..

If you do a Google search for “short term rentals ruining neighborhoods” you will see that it is already a huge and growing problem. The short term rental industry has a large group of lobbyists dedicated to preventing legislation to restrict them.

I think in an over 55 community it is an even bigger problem because people buy into an over 55 community for safety and security not a revolving door of strangers in a cheap hotel.

You pretty much know from the other thread that there has not been any movement.

It is possible that Florida State law prohibits Sumter County from making any movement.

1,200 rentals out of 70,000 (about 2%) hardly seems like an inundation.

Not all 1,200 units are used for one or two day (or less than 31 day) rentals.

A demand for houses, even if only to use as a rental, would seem to drive property values up, not down.

All homeowners pay monthly for amenities whether they live here full-time, part-time, or rent to others.

Not a chance.

Knowing what I know now, if I did decide to move the first question I would ask is do you allow short term rentals and move on if they say yes. We have one in our neighborhood and it is very disruptive if we continue to get more moving may be an option.

Streets????? STREETS???????

Didn't realize every "street" had its own government with the ability to pass laws and enforce them. Hmmmmm...... I'll have to make a list of "laws" I'd like to make for my street.

Money talks

As an example................

Airbnb shows 30 rentals between 466a & 44 and 70 rentals South of 44.

This includes short-term and long-term rentals.

Doesn't smell like a significant issue for the County to attack.


:shrug:



Checked a number of rental periods in the summer months when most if not are available.

Each "Unit" has its own deed restrictions. I have seen a deed restriction for one unit that did seem to prohibit rentals. Unfortunately, I can't remember now which one it was.

Not like that. Unless it's Rodeo Drive or Fifth Ave. :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

That would be nice---in which case I guess each unit could petition their CDD to add such a deed restriction. But I doubt it would be legal to do it retroactively. Also, that's a whole unit and a restriction made by the governing body, the CDD, not a single street, and not made by the homeowners.

Unless it's in your neighborhood. It is a very big problem in ours, young inconsiderate renters and an absentee owner who doesn't care about the property or the neighbors.

If property is not being taking care of..........there are covenants in place already.

I did not see ANY concentration of rentals in ANY area.........Where is your "very big problem"??

:gc:

There are at least two areas in CDD12 (not all) that specifically prohibit rentals without prior approval of the Developer.

(I did not check all CDDs or even all Units in CDD12. I found two with the clause and two without and stopped looking)

It only takes one in a Villa neighborhood to be a nuisance for many. The villas are very close, there are easement issues and parking is limited.

There have been at least 4 threads on this exact topic, started in the last 2 weeks or so.

I guess I'm curious. Why do folks feel the need to start new threads on topics that are under current discussion?

As to STR's. I'm willing to bet, most short-term rentals units in TV don't have the required permit from the State of Florida. Just speculation on my part.

Most of the homes in TV are prohibited by Deed Restriction, from being used for "Business". That's either for the Developer or 3rd Party Beneficiaries to enforce.

The various towns/counties involved TV don't seem to give a hoot about STR's and there are some state restrictions on what they can do about it.

Here are some of the basics:

Everything You Need to Know About Florida Short-Term Rentals Law | iGMS

Not to be contrary, but honestly, many of us full time residents in our neighborhood of designer home models, are beginning to worry about just how "bad" this will become, and if it will begin to effect property values (right now it seems anything in Florida sells, and especially here in the V's). Of course there is nothing we can do, but we are sad that the folks who come and go in these larger homes almost never speak, have no interest of course in getting to know anyone, they will rent a different home for a week next year, and so on. Don't really want to be a "whiner", but many in our neighborhood are realizing it's depressing. We no longer have that "something special" among neighbors, one put it very well when he said " it's getting like the big city coldness I left years ago". I understand what he meant. I realize there is no answer, things change. Our street was not built for multiple vehicles, often blocking "just" enough of the next home's drive to make it a little stressful to back out, and most of all, just the "atmosphere" of not having any interest in knowing anyone, which of course makes sense when you are only using a home as a base for a week's vacation. The "quiet" part you were trying to understand, I can only explain for our neighborhood, but we've never had traffic and noise, arrivals and departures at 1 a.m., 2 a.m. etc. in all the years since building here. But again, before the hate speech starts, most of us do understand, we've had some of our "originals" pass away, and the commercial people, have scooped up 4 properties on just our block. Just hate to see it happen... out of our hands. An element of this same issue I see as faulty, is the opinion some have expressed that these "in & out" folks don't pay for amenities. SOMEONE always pays, the person who rents out multiple properties still has to pay amenities on EACH property, they can simply build that into the nightly or weekly rates.

The point is The Villages was sold to us as an over 55 retirement community and these short term rentals not only don’t fit that profile but are actually disruptive to it. There are deed restrictions in place but the developer has chosen not to enforce them. It will just continue to get worse.

The developer is not the only one who can enforce the deed restrictions. If you have read yours and believe you are correct then continue reading to the enforcement section. In mine, the first part of that section says the owners have the right and the duty to prosecute to bring compliance. Exercise your right, perform your duty, and initiate prosecution to stop what you believe to be a deed violation.

Obviously you missed the intent of the thread. I want to get something going like Clearwater has done. I just didn’t want to be redundant with effort before submitting material before the commissioners. Thanks.

Bottom line, short term rentals suck when they are in your neighborhood and close to your home. It’s easy to say they aren’t a problem when there not in your neighborhood. We had a woman running an AIRBnB out of her home for a couple years which was extremely disruptive and disrespectful to the neighbors. Fortunately, she has moved out and our neighborhood is back to being peaceful and enjoyable, but I sincerely feel sorry for fellow Villagers who have to deal with a similar situation.

The internal deed restrictions being violated by these rentals are the responsibility of the developer to enforce and they have chosen to look the other way. It’s no wonder why, restricting rentals will reduce demand for new homes since some potential home buyers won’t be able to easily generate income from their home while living there. And as anyone paying attention knows, it’s all about selling homes. Talk about the fox watching the hen house, can you say “conflict of interest”. As far as Sumter County doing something about the situation, don’t hold your breath. The county is basically controlled by the developer, and if they don’t want to address the situation don’t expect the county to act otherwise.

You could bet your bottom dollar that if new home sales dried up because potential buyers strongly communicated they don’t want to risk investing their savings in a community with short term rentals, the problem would be addressed in a heart beat. But as long as new homes are selling faster than they can be built, nothing will change.

The deed restrictions were put into place by the developer before the streets even existed, they are no different than any other deed restriction, not laws.

The legalities of short term rentals
 

Very interesting read. Begs the question, how many of these rentals actually have the required licenses and pay their taxes, or maybe even claim homestead exemptions.

I have had 2 rentals in the villages - one for 9 years and one for 5. I have NEVER had a complaint from a neighbor. I even ask them when I am down and they all say it is ZERO problem. Now, I don't do less that a month, and I agree the 4 day renters off AirBnB are a different type, which is why I don't rent to them. However, Condemning the whole rental business for the actions of 1 or 2 seems a bit unfair.

Here is my suggestion, instead of trying to get laws passed, why not talk to the landlord about it? You just go on the Sumter county website and find out who the owner is and get in touch with them when there are issues. Seriously, nobody wants to be a bother, they probably don't know. You may be able to get hold of them through the airbnb site also, not sure.

No one is talking about regular rentals. These are daily rentals like a hotel. Different people every few days. Could be one person could be 6 or more. Believe me they know.

Are rentals new? Did no one on this thread ever rent for a week? Or did you just buy from a lifestyle visit?

BTW, I would hate to have a short term (a week or less) rental next to me.

One way to put a "damper" on some of these absentee landlords and short-term rental AirB&B situations is to alert the local tax office. Just let them know, that there is a property owner using their property as a short-term rental property, and possibly not paying their required tourism tax on the rental.

Long-term rentals are not subject to this tax. But short-term rentals absolutely are.

I understand both sides. We just purchased a home, but can not move to TV for 2 more years. Our plan is to rent it through the Villages Property Management for those two years. Then, we'll move down there full time and become wonderful neighbors! lol I believe their shortest term rental is 7 days non prime season. We used to own a condo at Treasure Island. We rented it out and noticed that 2-3 day rentals could be a problem but we loved the 30+ day rentals!! lol

Truly you jest, that is not true anywhere in the world. Renters, especially short term renters, have no interest in upkeep of the neighborhood, or being considerate etc. The only people who benefit from renters are the landlords everyone else suffers.

Very difficult for the County to take up an issue which is "one in a villa neighborhood" nuisance. Mostly since TV is less than 75% of Sumter County. Then you have to go to the other counties as well.

It would be interesting to see the facts on:

How much "Investor home buying" pushed up the value of homes in TV over the last few years.

How much "Investor owners" and their actions have decreased the value of homes in TV.


:popcorn::popcorn:

It's kind of cute seeing the newbies move in and want to change things that have been going on for decades.
Bless your heart.

See this is the problem, everyone likes to see their home value go up, but NOT at the cost of their Villages lifestyle - which is what The Villages Developer sells, which is what the short term renter especially, put in jeopardy. And if it was one villa out of the whole group, the neighborhood pool would not filled to the be brim with these people.

I as one have a patio villa which is a rental. As far as I know I have not been told by any of my neighbors of complaint. My place is rented in the season at least 2 to3 months if not more to the same people . In the summer months if there is any rental business are thru Airbnb or VBRO with a minimum of a week Also have at 3 to 4 neighbors who rent us from in the low season for their adult chidden to stay in if they do not have room at their place versus a hotel . I have not done any price compassion lately of rentals like mind but in the past I would see owners rent their places like $40-$45 dollars a night You can't get a best western or comfort inn for probably under a $100. a night So if that's the case I don't to put it this way but the less desirable renter will say why get a hotel room for 100 plus when I can get a house for way less. As for the point about absent landlord I take offense to that I personally come down 1 to 2 times a year to do a top to bottom maintenance of my property to keep close new condition because it is a investment . You overlook how many full residents let their property go done in care.

What I fail to understand is I thought I bought in a residential area, no commercial/business allowed. How is renting not considered a business?