Bonita Springs, FL Short-Term Rentals: Repeat Violator Strikes (2026)
Key Facts
- First violation
- Written warning from city manager or designee
- Repeat trigger
- Second occurrence within one year of the warning
- Maximum revocation
- Not to exceed six months
- Cost award cap
- $500.00 for costs of prosecution
- Hearing timing
- Within 30 days after service is complete
- Lease termination
- Ten days from mailing to commence proceedings
Summary
In the City of Bonita Springs, Lee County, Florida, a rental permit holder gets a written warning after a first violation, and a second violation within one year of that warning can lead to permit revocation. The hearing examiner can revoke a rental permit for up to six months and award the city up to $500.00 in prosecution costs.
(a)After the first occurrence of a violation of this article, the city manager or designee shall send a written warning to the permittee or agent. The warning will specify the ordinance or code provision upon which the public nuisance or violation is based and will state that any further public nuisances or violations of the above-enumerated ordinances or codes may result in revocation of the permit for that unit. (b)A second occurrence of a public nuisance or one of the above violations within one year of sending of the written warning provided in subsection (a) of this section shall constitute a violation of this section, and may subject the owner to revocation of the permit for that unit. ... (l)The hearing examiner shall have all the powers to this end, including power to subpoena and the authority to revoke a permit for the rental unit for a period not to exceed six months, including costs awarded to the city in an amount not to exceed $500.00 for costs of prosecution.
Full Breakdown
Section 12-111 of the Rental Permit Ordinance sets the enforcement ladder. The trigger list is in § 12-109(e): adjudication of guilt or a plea of no contest, including payment of a fine, for violating the city's noise ordinance, animal control ordinances, solid waste ordinances, property maintenance codes, minimum housing ordinances, parking ordinances or the Land Development Code provisions on habitation by more than one family, where the violation takes place at the regulated unit. Repeated violations that affect nearby residents' quiet enjoyment make the unit a public nuisance.
Step one is a written warning to the permittee or agent naming the ordinance provision at issue. Step two is a second occurrence within one year of the warning, which is a violation of § 12-111 and can subject the owner to revocation. Failure to respond to code enforcement citations or attend code enforcement proceedings also exposes the permit. The city must give written notice and an opportunity for a hearing to the permittee or agent and to any tenant of the unit, and the hearing examiner holds the hearing within 30 days after service is complete. Lack of knowledge or responsibility is no defense, though proof that the owner has started and is diligently pursuing termination of the lease under state law is a defense to a public nuisance. Vacating the unit does not abate the violation when it can be rented again, so a finding can still count against the owner as a repeat violator.
The hearing examiner can subpoena, revoke a permit for the unit for a period not to exceed six months and award up to $500.00 in costs of prosecution. Orders are posted at the unit and mailed to the permittee, agent and unit within seven business days. A permittee whose permit is revoked has ten days from mailing to begin proceedings to end the lease and recover possession. Under § 12-112(g), a revoked owner cannot be issued another permit for any premises for six months, and § 12-112(f) lets the city manager waive revocation for an owner who attempted in good faith to comply. Decisions can be appealed to the county court.
Violations & Fines
The remedy is permit revocation: up to six months per hearing examiner order, plus costs of prosecution not exceeding $500.00, and a six-month bar on any new permit for any premises under § 12-112(g). The city can also file for an injunction to abate the nuisance under § 12-111(o) or use other remedies permitted by law. The code counts a warning and one repeat within a year rather than using the word strike.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many violations lead to permit revocation in Bonita Springs?
How long can the city revoke a rental permit?
Is it a defense that the owner did not know about the tenant's conduct?
Does the tenant leaving end the case?
Can the owner appeal a revocation?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bonita Springs
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