Florida vacation resort owners file lawsuit challenging ban on rentals during pandemic
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order shutting the door on resort rentals with an executive order on March 1, and extending the rental ban in another executive order on April 29 to check the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, is being challenged in U.S. District Court this week.
The lawsuit, brought by, among others, Florida Beach Rentals LLC in Clearwater Beach, and a Panama City Beach resident who rents 21 privately-owned units, also has support in Manatee County.
Joe Varner of Anna Maria Vacations was in the process of filing a lawsuit, when he learned about a lawsuit being filed by Tampa attorney Craig Huffman in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Instead of proceeding with his lawsuit, Varner decided to have his attorney file an amicus brief, essentially agreeing with the arguments in Huffman’s lawsuit, although he is not a party to that case.
“We were about to file ourselves but there were so many attorneys in the state about to file suits, and we found out Tuesday that this attorney in Tampa and his plaintiffs were the closest so we let them go ahead and get it done,” Varner said.
Varner takes issue with the fact that hotels have been allowed to stay open, while resort rentals were not.
“If you are on one now, finish and go home,” DeSantis said in late March to visitors in vacation rental homes, although his order applied to new vacation rentals, defined as any house, condominium, cooperative, or dwelling unit that is also a transient public lodging establishment.
Blue-and-white roadside banners on the approaches to Anna Maria Island inform visitors that they may not check in to rental resorts.
In his executive order on April 29, DeSantis partially lifted his stay-at-home order and allowed retail stores and dining rooms to reopen, with appropriate spacing and other COVID-19-appropriate precautions.
The lawsuit notes that governors wield the highest power when confronting a health issue, but his police powers to administer health, safety, and welfare matters do not relieve of him of the duty to safeguard civil liberties.
“The ‘Flatten the Curve’ campaign to avoid hospital overload was within state powers as a legitimate and attainable regime. However, any legitimate action that infringes upon civil liberties must closely target the root of the crisis,” the lawsuit states.
“The respondent (DeSantis) banned vacation rentals while leaving open hotels, resorts, and timeshares,” the lawsuit said. “The stated view of keeping risky outsiders from coming to Florida is defeated in view of capacity-filled RV parks and hotel parking lots filled with out-of-state license plates.”
Vacation resorts account for about 85 percent of short-term rentals in Manatee County. Hotels and motels, which account for only about 15 percent of short-term rentals, are estimated to be at about 3 to 8 percent occupancy during the pandemic, Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, previously told the Herald
The lawsuit, filed by Huffman, asks for an injunction on DeSantis’ executive orders to halt the ban on resort rentals. The lawsuit also asks for the award of attorneys fees and costs, and any consequential or special damages for plaintiffs.
