A Villager is fed up with a short-term rental property in his neighborhood that’s become “like a motel.”
Ron Smiley who lives in the Apalachee Villas in the Village of Buttonwood voiced his concerns this past week before the Community Development District 8 Board of Supervisors, in their monthly meeting at SeaBreeze Recreation Center.
“It’s destroying our neighborhood,” said Smiley, who purchased his patio villa in 2019.
He said there has been high turnover at the neighboring villa, with short-term renters staying only two or three days.
“It’s like a motel across the street,” he said.
He described college students who stayed in the home for three days and walked on an American flag that had fallen on the ground as well as an oft-repeated pattern of parking on the front lawn.
“We ask them to move (their vehicles.) They don’t,” Smiley said.
He said the villa’s owner lives in New York and the short-term rentals are handled by a third party.
Smiley added that the cleaning crew at the villa came to neighbors and asked if an unauthorized visitor had stayed at the villa after discovering signs of an unbooked visitor.
“We hear about it on a regular basis,” said Supervisor Duane Johnson. “There is a very vibrant rental market in The Villages. We all know that.”
The authority with regard to short-term rentals rests in the hands of state government, so unless there are complaints about excessive noise or unlawful activity, there isn’t much that can be done at a local level.
However, District officials indicated that the Developer is looking at tightening up language in deed restrictions for new homes being built in the south, that could combat some of the short-term rental problems in the newer areas of The Villages.