Three months after Pinellas County updated its short-term rental ordinance—targeting platforms like Airbnb—some residents say the changes have done little to address their concerns.

The revised ordinance, approved in March, aimed to improve neighborhood quality of life by increasing property owner accountability, ensuring guest safety, and preserving community standards, according to a county memo.

Key provisions include a 10-person occupancy cap per rental, mandatory quiet hours beginning at 10 p.m., and a requirement for all short-term rentals to be registered with the county. A dedicated hotline was also launched to report noise complaints and other violations.

As of July 2, officials say the hotline has received 171 calls.

But for residents like Hillary Simpson, who lives next to a frequently rented property, the ordinance has not delivered the relief she hoped for. While she has reported numerous noise issues through the hotline, she says response times are often slow and little has changed.

“Calls go in, but nothing improves,” Simpson told Bay News 9. “We still haven’t seen accountability—and that’s what I was really hopeful for when this ordinance passed.”

One barrier, she says, is that responding deputies often lack the tools needed to assess STR violations. Patrol cars are not equipped with decibel readers; instead, deputies must retrieve them from headquarters, delaying enforcement.

On busy weekends and holidays, Simpson says the party atmosphere becomes so disruptive that she takes her small children out of town to avoid it.

“I can honestly tell you holidays are my least favorite time,” she said. “I believe we can hold these rentals accountable, but the tools and systems in place just aren’t doing it.”

When the ordinance passed, county officials said the hotline would help track complaints and provide data to inform future changes.

Currently, approximately 2,200 short-term rental properties are operating in Pinellas County.

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(Image credit: Angie Angers)

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