MANATEE COUNTY, Fla — When you drive into Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island, it’s hard to miss the multiples signs warning against vacation rentals.
Gov. Ron DeSantis extended his suspension of vacation rentals in the state by a month due to the coronavirus pandemic. On Friday, DeSantis signed Executive Order 20-103 to halt the rentals until April 30.
The Holmes Beach Police Department has gone high-tech to enforce this order. Officers are using license plate identification cameras to find out when a car has come on the island.
“So, when somebody says that they’ve been on the island for a month we can go back into the license plate recognition system and track their tags to see when they came on the island,” Chief William Tokajer said.
He said it helps them spot the lies from the truth.
“If it shows that they were here February and March then we know right away that they are telling the truth, but if it shows that the first time they came on the island was April 7 then we know that they checked in after the 28th,” Tokajer said.
Tokajer says they are also driving around the island and taking complaints from people.
“We’re going around our neighborhoods and we’re looking for people that might’ve checked in,” Tokajer said. “We also have quite a few people in the city that have given us lists of places that new cars have been put in.”
So far, Tokajer says they have gotten 80 complaints but have only found three rental locations that were in violation of the governor’s order.
“The renter and the owner of the property have both been criminally charged for the violation,” Tokajer said.
The violation will cost you. It’s a second-degree misdemeanor. Those charged will have to go before a judge, who will make the determination on the penalties and fines.
The governor’s order also states that the violator of the rental property will also lose their vacation rental certificate through DBPR. Tokajer says that might seem harsh, but it’s what needs to be done.
“People have to understand that if we take the pains for a short amount of time so that we can get through this, then we can go back to normal faster,” Tokajer said. “But it takes everybody working together to get this accomplished.”
Other counties aren’t taking their enforcement as far.
A Hillsborough County spokesperson said its enforcement is a “complaint-driven endeavor.”
Deputies don’t go looking for people breaking the order. The spokesperson says that would be “an endless chase” with how big the county is.
So far, the county has not discovered or charged anyone with a violation. The county says this is “not on the top of their emergency management list to enforce.”
10News has reached out to the public information officers for Pinellas and Pasco counties to learn about their enforcement measures. We are still waiting to hear back.
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