Miami Beach halts all short-term rentals due to COVID-19

The lay of the Miami Beach rental landscape will change at midnight.

The City of Miami Beach updated its Emergency Order on Tuesday to close and prohibit all short-term rentals in the city effective midnight Thursday.

Short-term and vacation rental properties must cancel all existing reservations and refrain from accepting new guests or reservations until the order expires or is otherwise amended.

The COVID-19 pandemic has continued raging throughout Florida, spurring local governments to try to strike a balance between precautionary measures and the economy.

The Miami-Dade County curfew remains in place for cities throughout the county, and residents are required to stay indoors from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Exceptions have been made for essential workers and for people who need to attend to religious obligations.

Ocean Drive has been closed to vehicular traffic to allow restaurants in Phase 1B of reopening to have additional outdoor seating capacity and to offer residents and visitors more room to walk or cycle.

Miami-Dade County also amended Emergency Order 20-20 earlier in the month which requires all people to wear masks or other facial coverings when they are out in public. Exceptions have been granted to people engaging in strenuous activity and for people eating or drinking.

The Miami Beach city hotline 305-604-CITY (2489) is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. for questions. Questions can also be sent to [email protected].