Featured Case

PLF Fights Unreasonable Restrictions on People’s Right To Rent Their Homes

Town of Jupiter Inlet Colony v. Bondar

Contact:   R.S. Radford or Alan E. DeSerio

Status:      Motion for summary judgment filed June, 2010. Hearing scheduled for Sept. 21, 2010.

Summary:

Alexander and Holly Bondar own a rental home in the Town of Jupiter Inlet Colony in South Florida. For several years, the Bondars have rented the home to vacationers for short-term periods, typically a week to a few months.

When the Bondars purchased and began renting out the property, the Town had no restrictions on the length of rentals of property zoned as single-family residential. To this day, there is no such restriction in the Town’s code of ordinances, and there is no specific ordinance addressing the issue of duration of rentals. The Bondars have paid all applicable taxes and have obtained the necessary state and local licenses required for rentals. At no time has the property been cited by code enforcement for tenants’ unruly behavior.

In November, 2008, after months of threatened action, the Town began to cite the Bondars for the unlawful rental of property in violation of the Town’s zoning ordinances. As part of a growing trend in Florida, including in PLF’s prior case of Milo v. City of Venice, the Town contended that the property’s zoning designation as single-family residential prohibits short-term rentals.

In January, 2009, the Town filed a declaratory judgment action against the Bondars, seeking to have the court declare whether the Town’s general zoning code prohibits the short-term rental of the Bondars’ property. The Bondars have responded that the Town’s actions constitute a taking of their property and a violation of their rights to due process. PLF represent the Bondars as co-counsel in the declaratory judgment action.