Miami Herald – How $20,000 fines have made Miami Beach an Airbnb battleground

November 27, 2016
For the past eight months, Miami Beach has waged a war against short-term rentals. Its weapon of choice: $20,000 fines. The city of Miami Beach feels short-term rentals should play a very limited role in the makeup of the city, where zoning prohibits short-term rentals in almost the entire island. Since raising the penalty to a flat $20,000 from a previous cost of $500 to $7,500 in late March, Miami Beach has fined residents and rental companies themselves — including Airbnb, HomeAway and Booking.com — a combined $4 million. Residents who live in areas that allow short-term rentals may also get fined if they don’t have a business tax receipt and resort tax account to operate legally. Tourists staying in illegal rentals can get evicted, but not fined. “I think [the fines] can be increased, actually,” said Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine. “$20,000 is not enough. Our community is not in favor of short-term rentals.”…
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/biz-monday/article117332773.html