§ 14-165. Miscellaneous provisions.

(a)

Rental of single-family dwelling.

(1)

Occupancy limits.

a.

Unlawful leases. No owner, local responsible party, agent, landlord, management company, management or leasing agent, or any other person acting on behalf of an owner of a single-family dwelling shall enter into any agreement, contract, lease or sublease which provides for, permits, allows, contemplates or facilitates the occupancy of any single-family dwelling by any arrangement other than one family as defined in this ordinance. Any agreement, contract, lease or sublease which provides for, permits, allows, contemplates or facilitates such occupancy by any arrangement other than one family is unlawful and is hereby declared to be contrary to public policy and a violation of this article.

b.

The occupancy of a dwelling unit by more occupants than permitted as provided for herein shall, in and of itself, be deemed to present a serious threat to the public health, safety and general welfare.

c.

It shall be unlawful for any person as a lessor, tenant, lessee, occupant, landlord, sublessee, local responsible party or owner to violate, cause, or allow a violation of any of the provisions of this section.

d.

It shall be unlawful to lease, rent, or otherwise convey possession of any dwelling, structure, or part thereof, to any person prohibited from establishing such permanent or temporary residence as set forth in section 34-5 of this Code, entitled "sexual offender residency restrictions" or as set forth under state law.

e.

An owner's failure to comply with the requirements of this section, either personally or by and through any local responsible party, agent, servant or employee, shall constitute a violation of this section, and may subject the owner, his or her local responsible party, agent, servant, employee, and/or any other person or entity with responsibility for the care, custody or control of the subject rental property to a revocation or denial of the permit, and to enforcement proceedings as authorized under chapter 18 of this Code of Ordinances and F.S. ch. 162, or by any other remedy authorized by law.

(b)

Local responsible party required.

(1)

Whenever any residential property is required to have a rental permit under this article, the owner shall designate an adult natural person to serve as the local responsible party for contact by town officials relating to the property. The local responsible party may apply for a rental permit on behalf of the owner.

(2)

A rental property owner may designate himself or herself as the local responsible party under this section, provided that any owner who does so must physically reside within Martin County, Florida. Any owner who physically resides outside of Martin County, either at the time of procuring a permit or after having procured a permit, shall designate as a local responsible party an agent who physically resides within Martin County.

(3)

Any notice given to the designated local responsible party shall be sufficient to satisfy any requirement of notice to the owner.

(4)

An owner shall notify the town manager or designee in writing of any change in the designation of the local responsible party within ten business days of such change.

(5)

Failure to designate, appoint or engage a local responsible party meeting the requirements of this section shall subject the owner to enforcement proceedings as authorized under chapter 18 of this Code of Ordinances, denial or revocation of the rental permit.

(6)

When acting as the agent for the owner, it is the duty of the local responsible party to:

a.

Inform all tenants and adult renters prior to their occupancy of the dwelling unit of applicable town ordinances concerning limitations on noise, contractors, vehicle parking and other applicable town ordinances;

b.

Ensure that all dwellings under their control are in compliance with the occupancy limits as specified in the Town Code;

c.

Ensure compliance with the provisions of this article, and ensure that any violations of this article or other Town Code shall be promptly remedied; and

d.

Be available with full authority to appropriately respond to any issue that may arise in connection with the dwelling 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

(c)

Updates. Both the owner and the local responsible party shall have a continuing obligation to maintain accurate information about the rental dwelling with the town, and shall provide the above information and any updates or corrections to said information to the town during the term of the permit as that new information becomes known or available.

(d)

Occupant lists in rental dwellings. The owner and the local responsible party shall maintain and produce upon request a list of all authorized persons permitted to occupy the dwelling unit as their living quarters. Such list shall be made available and provided to the town manager or designee immediately upon request for the purposes of any inspection or investigation conducted under the provisions of this article.

(e)

Owner-occupied dwellings with rooms for rent; prohibition of short-term rentals. A residential rental permit is required by any owner who occupies a single-family dwelling and who also rents space in that dwelling to any unrelated, natural person(s) for the purpose of occupying the whole or part of a dwelling as a separate housekeeping unit; provided that no owner, either directly or through a local responsible party, agent, employee or any other person, may enter into a short-term rental, or permit a short-term tenant to occupy any portion of a single-family dwelling within the town.

(f)

Submission of information required upon rental of dwelling. Within ten days from the effective date of any lease agreement involving any rental dwelling within the town, the owner or the local responsible party shall provide in writing to the town clerk the following information:

(1)

The names of all tenants who are parties to the lease agreement;

(2)

The names of all authorized occupants of the rental premises, regardless of age;

(3)

The length or term of the lease agreement;

(4)

A current address and telephone number at which the owner may be contacted, and, if different from the owner, the name, address and telephone number of the local responsible party;

(5)

A copy of current or updated signed lease agreement from the owner, or local responsible party.

(Ord. No. 369, § 2, 6-12-2012)