Anyone have experience renting per room in lee county FL

[Eric Renney]

I have a 5 bedroom house zoned as single family residential in ft Myers FL. I have all the rooms rented out with 6 mo leases where they share common space and each have a separate keyed lock on their room.

I recently had code enforcement show up to the property stating that I can only have 1 family in the house. I have heard of a specific ordinance stating there can be up to 4 unrelated persons in a single family residence. I am having trouble finding this I formation to confirm though. I have reached out to the county to see how I can remedy the situation.

The tenants have all been very easy and get along great. I would love to be able to keep the setup I have.

Any ideas on this? Make the leases structured similar to vacation rentals with month to month leases? Student housing rules?

Thanks in advance

[Michael Hakes]

Call Code enforcement and ask what there ordinance is and where you can find it.

This is from an old article(2007) but could help. 

https://www.nbc-2.com/story/10689044/the-real-deal-overcrowded-homes

A Lee County ordinance says no more than four unrelated adults can live under one roof. We asked for the number of overcrowding cases and the county says there were none.

"The burden of proof is on us, so if someone says I'm related to her, it gets into difficult territory," said Joan LaGuardia of Lee County Code Enforcement.

In Charlotte County there's no law preventing overcrowding.

Cape Coral didn't have a law against it until we started asking questions. Within the last month, the Cape implemented a new housing limit - two people per bedroom.

"It's becoming a bigger issue," said Frank Cassidy of Cape Coral Code Enforcement.

It's a problem that can't be solved overnight and isn't going away anytime soon.

If you suspect a home in your neighborhood is overcrowded, your best course of action is to contact your local code enforcement office. If you live in a city or county that doesn't enforce overcrowding, contact your or city or county commissioner.

The following are confirmed cases of overcrowding in Southwest Florida: