Manatee County commissioners are drafting new rules aimed at short-term rental properties after fielding hundreds of complaints from residents in Bradenton, Palmetto, and beachside neighborhoods.
The county currently has no dedicated short-term rental ordinance and instead relies on state law and existing local noise, fire, and property maintenance codes.
Judy Vobroucek, a Bradenton resident of 30 years, said vacation rentals have sprung up around her once-quiet street.
“I have one behind me. There’s one on the corner behind me. There’s one on the next street this way,” she said.
She described weekend disruptions after years of calm, saying the trouble includes overcrowding, trash, and noise. She said some four-bedroom homes have housed 16 to 20 guests at a time, and that garbage cans set out days early sometimes sit at the curb for nearly a week. Loud music, she said, is a regular occurrence.
County Commissioner Tal Siddique said the complaints echo what commissioners have heard from residents across the county, arguing that some property owners are failing to manage their renters or maintain their properties responsibly.
Commissioners are now working on an ordinance that would require short-term rental owners to register their properties, pass safety inspections, and face escalating penalties for violations. Siddique described the proposal as a scaled-down version of rules already in place in other counties, requiring rental owners to register with the state or face significant civil fines.
Under the draft plan, fines would increase with repeat violations, and additional infractions could trigger mandatory re-inspections billed to the property owner.
Vobroucek said she’d like to see vacation rentals barred from residential neighborhoods altogether, arguing that families move into such areas to raise children and retire in peace, not to contend with daily rental turnover.
Commissioners plan to hold a public hearing on the proposed ordinance this fall, though no date has been set. If adopted, the new rules would take effect once formally approved.
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Image credit: Tiffany Tompkins/Brandenton Herald
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