Key West developers’ vacation rental case postponed until October

Key West developers who also run the leading local sightseeing tour have until October to fight a batch of code cases accusing them of repeatedly renting out vacation condos without the proper license for short-term rentals.

Chris Belland and Ed Swift of Historic Tours of America also own Key Cove Landing, which owns several luxury condos at a waterfront complex off North Roosevelt Boulevard.

Two of those condos, 4 and 10 Key Cove Drive, were recently rented in separate agreements by an undercover Code Compliance officer who said she found illegal short-term listings on Airbnb, Vrbo and HomeAway websites and booked six nights at both spots for about $4,000 each.

Four Key Cove code cases were set to be aired out at Wednesday’s Code Compliance hearing at Old City Hall, 510 Greene St. But after having an attorney meet with city officials, the owners were granted a postponement to Oct. 19.

The owners face up to $24,000 in fines on what city officials say is their third code violation in 15 months.

Twice last year, Belland signed settlements with the Key West Code Compliance Department promising not to rent Key Cove condos for fewer than 30 days after being caught doing short-term rentals without a transient license.

In September, Key Cove Landings paid the city $4,087 — the profits off a recent illegal rental — plus $250 in administrative costs, after a neighbor reported the $1 million condo being rented by the night. A $5,000 fine was also suspended for 60 months.

Earlier that year, Belland paid $250 in fees for another illegal rental advertisement.

This story was originally published August 31, 2016 at 10:25 AM with the headline "Key West developers’ vacation rental case postponed until October."