City of Orlando Press Release
In an effort to expose visitors to authentic Orlando experiences and provide an opportunity for residents to participate in the sharing economy, the City of Orlando recently made changes to its code to allow residents greater flexibility in renting out a portion of their home, condo or apartment to guests for short-term stays.
Under the new home sharing ordinance, residents are allowed to host guests in a portion of their residence within all residential zoning districts for 30 days or less; provided that the rented portion of the home is 50 percent or less of the total number of bedrooms in the residence, that there is only one booking at a time and that the resident lives on-site and is present when hosting guests.
“We are excited to offer this new opportunity to residents in our communities,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “Home sharing not only allows our residents the opportunity to earn extra income, but gives visitors the chance to enjoy an authentic Orlando experience by staying in the heart of Orlando’s local neighborhoods.”
Home sharing and these type of short term stays have grown in popularity with the growth of popular platforms such as AirBnB, VRBO and Flip Key.
By requiring the home owner or tenant to be present during a booking, the city ensures the protection of the character of each neighborhood and limits the ability of large corporations or investors from buying multiple properties within the neighborhood to rent them out in their entirety. This requirement also reduces the potential for noise, parking and traffic congestion because the resident is on-site to help mitigate any issues.
Residents interested in participating in home sharing must register their property with the city, and can do so using its new Beta Website, which brings more than 60 city services online, making it easier and more efficient for residents to interact and do business with the city.
The ordinance took effect on July 1, 2018 but the city is offering an amnesty registration period through October 1, 2018 to give residents time to register their home as a home share rental.
“By offering an amnesty period, we are allowing time for public outreach and education, giving residents the opportunity to become familiar with the new requirements for home sharing,” said Mike Rhodes, Deputy Director of Economic Development for the City of Orlando. “As a city, we made the conscious decision to only allow residents to rent a portion of their home to reduce the potential impacts renting an entire dwelling could have on housing affordability and the inventory of housing stock.”
For more information on home share rentals or to register your residence for home sharing, visit orlando.gov/homeshare.
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