Miami is taking a closer look at the growing footprint of short-term stays in its condo buildings, gathering fresh data on violations and exploring how other cities have worked around state limits on local regulation.

The Miami City Commission is considering on September 10 a proposal to direct the city manager to compile a 90-day report on short-term lodging violations and their impact on condo buildings and residents. It would also call for quarterly updates on buildings with multiple violations and ask the city attorney to report Sept. 24 on the legal status of short-term lodging registration programs created in jurisdictions after Florida curtailed local regulation in 2011.

Miami has long balanced its bustling tourism industry with the quality of life of the residents who live here year-round. Short-term lodging sits at the center of that balance, giving property owners another way to accommodate visitors while raising questions about how those stays fit into residential buildings and neighborhoods.

Florida law changed that landscape in 2011, when the Legislature adopted a law that says local governments may not prohibit vacation rentals or regulate how long or how frequently they are rented, except for local laws adopted on or before June 1, 2011.

The state restriction came as online platforms such as Airbnb, VRBO and HomeAway were beginning to transform the way property owners could offer short-term accommodations. According to the resolution, the state preemption effectively froze local governments’ ability to change their rules as the platforms expanded.

Miami later tested the limits of that restriction in court. In 2017, Airbnb sued the city over its enforcement of short-term lodging rules in the T3 Transect Zone, arguing the city could not use its zoning code to impose restrictions that conflicted with the state’s preemption. The courts ultimately upheld the city’s limited restrictions based on the Miami 21 zoning code and its status as a local law that predated the 2011 state cutoff.

That distinction remains central to how short-term lodging works in Miami today. The Miami 21 Code divides the city into “transect zones,” each with its own rules for development and land use. The allowances and restrictions for vacation and short-term lodging in the city’s various zones are set out in the code, with different rules applying depending on where a property is located.

Property owners who are allowed to operate short-term lodging must also meet city and state licensing requirements. The city’s Building Department recently updated its website with information explaining which properties are eligible to host short-term lodging and what approvals are required.

But the rules on paper do not necessarily mean the rules are being followed. “As recently reminded in local news events, not all property owners choose to comply with the required State of Florida and local laws, which creates safety and quality-of-life issues for nearby residents, visitors, and businesses,” reads the resolution, sponsored by Commissioner Damian Pardo.

That is where the proposed report would come in. If approved, the city manager would have 90 days to give commissioners a broader picture of how short-term lodging is operating throughout the city. The report would include pending violations and violations brought to a hearing during the previous two years in transect zones other than T3.

It would also take a closer look at short-term lodging in condominium buildings, examining the issues and effects on city services and residents. Among the information requested are state lodging licenses issued through the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, city Certificates of Use, Business Tax Receipts, building permits, complaint calls and investigations.

The resolution would then make that review an ongoing process, directing the city manager to provide the commission with a quarterly report identifying condominium buildings with multiple violations. It also would direct the city attorney to return to the commission Sept. 24 with an update on the legal status of any vacation or short-term lodging registration programs created in other jurisdictions after the 2011 state law took effect.

That could give Miami officials a look at how other communities have approached registration and oversight within the constraints of Florida’s preemption law, and whether any of those approaches could offer a model for the city.

If approved this week, the city manager’s report and the city attorney’s legal update would give commissioners additional information to consider as they weigh a possible path toward stronger compliance with the city’s existing short-term lodging rules.