New rules for short-term vacation rentals coming to Indian Rocks Beach

INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, Fla. - Some longtime residents of Indian Rocks Beach are letting out a sigh of relief after city commissioners finally answered their longstanding concerns over countless nearby homes turning into short-term vacation rentals. 

The council voted Tuesday to pass an ordinance regulating such properties, commonly listed for use on mobile apps like Airbnb and VRBO. The measure comes with a list of rules both for hosts and guests. 

Under the ordinance, owners will have to register their rentals with the city, entailing an extensive paperwork and inspection process. Many rentals will be capped at a maximum of 12 overnight guests. After two years, the cap will become even stricter, with a maximum of ten guests. 

The ordinance also requires that owners be available around the clock to quickly respond to complaints from neighbors. Additionally, each rental would need one parking space for each bedroom. The measure would apply to parts of the city on both sides of Gulf Boulevard. 

Indian Rocks Beach home. 

Complaints range from noise violations and illegal parking to strangers harassing homeowners, leaving trash, and wandering neighborhood streets. While some vacation rental owners may challenge the city's new rules in court, the response from longtime residents on Tuesday appeared overwhelmingly supportive.

During the public comment period before Tuesday night's vote, homeowner Rick Welch told commissioners that he and his wife bought their 12th Avenue home nine years ago for the 'neighborhood feel,' but that in recent years it had changed dramatically due to short-term rentals. 

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"In our town now, all of the realtors say, 'Buy in Indian Rocks Beach, where they have no short-term rentals at all.’ Every single ad we see, that’s what they put out there," Welch told council members. 

Sign on Indian Rocks Beach from residents who do not want rentals. 

However, he added, "Every home in our area that’s selling now is turning into short-term rentals." 

Another longtime resident, Marilyn Bush, has owned her home on Harbor Drive for more than 50 years. She said she could now see half a dozen homes from her doorstep that have been turned into short-term rentals. 

"We are now living the nightmare on our own streets," Bush said Tuesday. "I used to be welcoming and friendly. And now I am the crabby old lady down the street!" 

Indian Rocks Beach sign. 

Some of the newly-adopted rules had faced challenges at the state level, including a pair of now-defeated bills that would have limited a local government's power to regulate vacation rentals. 

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However, Indian Rocks Beach can move forward with the ordinance because the legislation did not pass. 

Similar challenges could still arise in future legislative sessions. 

The city manager said parts of the new ordinance will be prepared and rolled out in the coming months.