Homestead, FL Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Sit-Lie Rules (2026)

Sec. 17-17 of the City Code, sitting within Chapter 17's Miscellaneous Offenses, provides a flat, city-wide prohibition: it is unlawful to sleep on any street, avenue or other public property in Homestead. The rule traces back to Code 1975, § 29-85, and carries no exception for anyone experiencing homelessness or lacking access to shelter; the only people the section exempts are the city's own police and fire personnel using police or fire department dormitories while on duty. A cross-reference attached to the section ties it to the city's Parks and Recreation chapter (Ch.

20), meaning the ban extends to sleeping in city parks as well as streets and sidewalks. Because Chapter 17 does not set out a special penalty of its own for Sec. 17-17, a violation is enforced through the Code's catch-all penalty provision, Sec. 1-11, which applies whenever the Code declares something unlawful without stating a specific fine. That provision authorizes a fine of up to $500, imprisonment for up to 60 days, or both, and treats each day a violation continues as a new, separate offense, giving police and code enforcement broad discretion to act every time someone is found sleeping on public property in the city.