Manatee County to vote on vacation rental regulations in June; commissioners divided over proposed ordinance affecting estimated 5,833 rental properties

May 8, 2025 (The Herald-Tribune) –

Manatee County will decide on new regulation of short-term vacation rentals in unincorporated Manatee County next month, but the vote could be split.

The county commissioners started the process on Jan. 28 , when they asked staff to work toward plans to regulate short-term vacation rentals. The staff presented an update on those efforts during this week's meeting shortly before commissioners voted to direct that a proposed ordinance be presented for approval in June.

Some municipalities, including Bradenton and those on Anna Maria Island already regulate vacation rentals, but the unincorporated county does not. The staff estimates that about 5,833 properties are currently offered as vacation rentals in Manatee County could not calculate exact figures nor conduct safety inspections without approval of a formal county policy.

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Florida law prohibits municipalities from regulating certain aspects of vacation rentals, such as duration or frequency of rental, unless the local government adopted such rules before June 1, 2011 . But it does allow them to require registration, permits, safety inspections, quiet hours, occupancy limits and parking rules, and to set up a fee structure.

District 3 Commissioner Tal Siddique called the system "fractured," and said that county oversight could bring uniformity to the patchwork approach taken by local cities and fire districts.

"We have a very fractured system and it really stems from Tallahassee wanting to see a consistent approach, but the reality is most pre-emptions, if not all, tend to backfire pretty quickly," Siddique said. "Because of local control, or at least a local framework, we have tax collector is doing one thing, West Manatee Fire is doing another, Cedar Hammock , North River , everyone is doing something different."

Commissioners did not discuss plans for fees, but Siddique asked that they remain lower than $500 before he made the motion directing staff to bring an ordinance to the board for approval next month. He asked that the county remain transparent on the matter with residents, a key part of successful efforts by local cities that already have ordinances.

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"People can pick up the phone and call and make sure it's transparent for property owners," Siddique said. "I don't want to discourage rentals, but I do want to make sure tourists feel safe when coming here."

At least two commissioners expressed skepticism with the idea. At-Large Commissioner Jason Bearden has opposed the proposal since January, and called for emphasis on enforcement of existing ordinances that he says already address concerns about vacation rentals.

"This doesn't make sense, guys," Bearden said. "We're going to have to create a whole, essentially, specific department to handle all of this… I really don't think that adding more bureaucracy to this is going to help the current situation that we are currently in. I think what we need to do is focus on the enforcement piece, not the regulation, and improve our existing ordinances. Not more regulations. How do we check this? Because that's the real main issue."

"People, they're worried about the noise ordinances or the neighbors partying next door, we need to enforce that," he said. "That's the real issue at hand. Not putting more regulations on vacation rentals."

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune : Manatee County set for vacation rental regulation vote in June, but officials are split