Sarasota, FL Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)

City of Sarasota Code § 34-41 makes it unlawful to lodge out-of-doors, pitching a tent, building a lean-to, or laying out bedding to sleep, on any public or private property in the city without the owner's consent. Before issuing a citation, an officer must offer transport to an available shelter; only a refusal, plus evidence such as an active campsite, cooking, fire-building or digging, supports probable cause. Belongings left behind are inventoried and held by city police for up to sixty days, then treated as abandoned and disposed of under Florida Statutes Chapter 705.