The Key West Rental Situation
The City of Key West requires that we rent our houses for a thirty (30) day rental term - but the city does not require you to occupy the house twenty-four hours (24) a day, seven (7) days a week, thirty (30) days a month.
That said, as long as we have a legally binding thirty (30) day rental agreement, we can offer you a monthly rental rate that is perhaps more reflective of the number of days you will actually be staying in the house. If you rent a house for a thirty (30) day rental term, and stay in the house for thirty (30) days, the house will incur more wear and tear, and more utility usage, than if you rent the house for thirty (30) day rental term, and stay in the house, for example, for only fifteen (15) days. Therefore we are willing to offer you a reduced the monthly rental rate based on, for example, only a fifteen (15) night stay.
In other words, if you rent the Main House for a thirty (30) day rental term, and stay in the house for thirty (30) days, the monthly rental rate for the Main House for eight (8) guests, in, for example, November, is $ 9,000. If you rent the Main House for a thirty (30) day rental term, and only stay in the house, for example, for fifteen (15) days, we are willing to offer the Main House to you for eight (8) guests, for a reduced monthly rental rate.
To further the example, the rental term would be for thirty (30) days, beginning on, for example, November 1st, and ending on December 1st. It would be your decission to arrive on November 10th, and depart on, for example, November 25th...or before. We would not hold you responsible for any damage to the house for the days described in the rental agreement, that you would not be actually staying in the house.
We know it's an unconventional way to do business, but the City of Key West assistant attorney, and our attornies require that it is done this way to conform to the city's current rental ordinance (...which is the result of the infiltration of large hotels and motels, who would rather have you spend your vacation in a hotel or motel, rather than in a private historic environment, full of character and charm... sometimes our government forces us to be a little creative in order to legally do business; between city ordinances, zoning restrictions, eminent domain situations, rising property taxes, hurricanes, and of course, the current economic situation, property ownership in the Florida Keys is becoming quite a challenge!)
I hope this gives you a better understanding of the rental situation in Key West…