Senate approves bill to strengthen motel owner rights

The Senate passed a measure Wednesday by a vote of 31-1 that would clarify circumstances under which guests who have not paid their bills may be removed from a hotel or motel.

St. Augustine Republican Sen. Tom Leek presented the bill (SB 606) and explained that the legislation would strengthen private property rights for motel and hotel owners by clarifying language in current statutes.

“Public lodging establishment operators are currently permitted by statute to promptly remove non-paying guests upon giving the guest proper notice,” Leek said. “Because the language of the statute isn’t clear, public lodging establishment owners may be unable to remove non-paying guests because they are claiming the lodging establishment is their sole residence.”

Leek said that because of the unclear language, hotel and motel owners are often forced to go through the same process as landlords to remove someone who has not paid from their property.

“As a result, rather than invoking the public lodging provisions of chapter 509, the public lodging establishment is forced to go through the landlord-tenant process of chapter 83,” Leek said. “This is a lengthy process and can be a significant financial burden. This bill clarifies that circumstances under which guests who have not paid their bills may be removed.”

Leek further explained that the bill clarifies the definition of transient occupancy and non-transient occupancy, removing the one calendar month language from public lodging establishment definitions. Transient occupancy is defined as a stay of less than 30 days, while non-transient is defined as a stay longer than 30 days.

The bill also removes the mandatory arrest and criminal penalty for individuals who are removed from a public lodging establishment or public food service establishments, as law enforcement would be given the discretion in deciding whether to arrest a noncompliant guest.

The measure also clarifies issues regarding check out time, expands how a statutorily required notice can be delivered to the guest by including phone calls, text and emails.

Newberry Republican Rep. Chad Johnson introduced a companion bill (HB 535) and has been passed by two committees and will make its last committee stop in the House Commerce Committee before heading to the House floor.