The DBPR is reviewing and approving the vacation rental reopening plans being submitted by counties. In the span of just a couple days, we now have 26 counties in Florida approved to reopen vacation rentals in their area.

The full list can be found on DBPR's Vacation Rental Status website, but as of this update, the following counties have been approved: Bay, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Dixie, Duval, Escambia, Flagler, Franklin, Gilchrist, Gulf, Lafayette, Lee, Levy, Manatee, Nassau, Okaloosa, Osceola, Pinellas, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, St. Johns, Sumter, Wakulla, Walton

For background purposes, as part of the governor's full phase 1 reopening of Florida all counties may seek approval to operate vacation rentals with a written request from the County Administrator and the county’s safety plan for vacation rental operation submitted to DBPR. Accordingly, the County Administrator should submit his/her written request and the county’s safety plan to DBPR Secretary Halsey Beshears electronically at: halsey.beshears@myfloridalicense.com.

Full Phase 1 of Florida's Reopening

Things seem to be moving at a steady pace in Florida's full phase 1 reopening, with places like gyms and fitness centers opening back up, as well as seeing more people being allowed into restaurants and stores. The big news this week for our members was the approval of 26 county plans for the reopening of vacation rentals as I described above.

Additionally, for all you parents, grandparents and guardians out there, the breaking news today was the governor's announcement that he will be lifting all restrictions on youth activities such as summer camps and youth sports, effective immediately. Hopefully, this can begin to provide some relief to both parents and kids as we begin to try and find a new normal.

New Executive Orders

While we await the latest executive order on his youth activities announcement today, the most applicable executive order for our members this week was Executive Order 2020-124, which extends the delay on municipal elections in the cities of San Antonio, Dade City and Zephyrhills to June 30th.

For continued reference, Executive Order 2020-123 contains the all information regarding the full phase 1 of Florida's reopening. Additionally, all of the governor's executive orders can be found here.

Unemployment Benefits

According to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s (DEO) unemployment dashboard, as of May 21st, more than 120,000 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claims from independent contractors, many of whom are Realtors®, have been processed and more than 75,000 are receiving their benefits. Even better, these numbers have seen significant increases over the last two weeks as DEO continues to make improvements to Florida’s strained unemployment system, known as CONNECT.

As we reported in a story this week, while that’s good news for many Realtors® in Florida, DEO has been vocal about the need for claimants to continue to check their CONNECT system inbox and email accounts linked to their applications to ensure they are not missing important notifications regarding their applications. 

For continued reference, here are the steps for applying for PUA in Florida.

If you applied for state benefits on or before April 4 you must: 

1. Go to CONNECT and apply for state benefits again.

2. Wait for DEO to deny you state benefits.

3. Once you get denied, check your CONNECT inbox for instructions about PUA.

If you applied for state benefits after April 4 you must:

1. Wait for DEO to deny you state benefits.

2. Once you get denied, check your CONNECT inbox for instructions about PUA.

In both of the above cases, you will not get access to the PUA application until DEO has processed your state benefits application and denied you state benefits. Only then will access to the PUA application appear in the CONNECT system.

Once Realtors® are denied state benefits and receive access to the PUA application, they can refer to this guide and/or this video for assistance as they fill it out. These resources, and much more can be found on DEO’s CARES Act website. You can also always refer to Florida Realtors® Q&A website on this topic.

SBA, Treasury Release PPP Loan Forgiveness Application

Late last week, the SBA and Treasury released the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan Forgiveness Application. The application provides borrowers with instructions on how to apply for forgiveness of PPP loans as authorized by the CARES Act. SBA is expected to issue additional guidance on the loan forgiveness application soon.

The application is here and a joint press release from SBA and Treasury is here.

For more information and updates regarding CARES Act emergency loans, visit Treasury.gov/CARES and SBA.gov/PaycheckProtection.

Source: Florida Realtors®

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