No date for Perdido Key’s reopening for short term renters

No date for Perdido Key’s reopening for short term renters
State’s hotels are open; other vacation options removed
The Escambia County Board of County Commissioners has joined the throng of elected officials and business leaders asking Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to lift the ban on short-term vacation rentals. Florida suspended rental periods shorter than 30 days while allowing hotels to remain open under Phase One of the state’s reopening process issued on March 27. The ban has been extended indefinitely.
Re-Open Florida Task Force’s guidelines will allow short term rentals to Florida residents during the second phase of the state’s reopening. But there is no set date for that to happen.
Right now, hotels are welcoming guests, while vacation rental properties remain closed.The current guidelines state that renters will be asked to wait 72 hours between rentals in addition to renting only to Florida residents when the ban is lifted.
District II Commissioner Doug Underhill told the Pensacola News Journal that Perdido Key has no hotels and short term rentals bring tourists, and thus dollars and jobs to Southwest Escambia County. “It’s imperative that we remember, there are no hotels or motels on Perdido Key,” Underhill said.
DeSantis is facing a lawsuit from vacation rental owners alleging the ban is unconstitutional and the Santa Rosa County Commissioners also has officially asked the governor to lift the ban on vacation rentals, stating that there is only one hotel on Navarre Beach. “Our local economy has suffered greatly due to this ban as well as the continued loss of income that many rely on to pay mortgages and support local employment,” that letter stated.