The City of Miami may soon ban hourly-room rental hotels

(MIAMI) Hourly-room rentals may soon be prohibited in the city of Miami. In a push to crackdown on human trafficking and illegal drugs, Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla proposed a ban on hotels and motels renting rooms on an hourly basis.

For decades, "no-tell motels" have operated in areas such as Calle Ocho, with prices ranging from $35 to $240 for hourly stays in properties advertising heart-shaped jacuzzis, mirrored rooms, and adult movies.

Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla, District 1, at the City of Miami commission meetingCity of Miami Gov Youtube

Diaz de la Portilla, lead sponsor of the ban on hourly rentals at the City of Miami Commission, says restricting how these businesses operate can be the first step to combat illicit activities in the community. "It's a breeding ground for prostitution, sex trafficking, and drug dealing. It's sort of the kind of thing that we don't want happening in Miami," said Diaz de la Portilla in an interview with News Break. "Calle 8 is a heavily trafficked area, but on 7th Street or 6th Street, and in more residential streets we have people who have lived there for 30-40 years, and now they get up in the morning and see condoms in the streets or people parked at night in the corners, and neighbors are concerned," he added.

In 2016, the City of Coral Gables approved a similar law prohibiting hourly room rentals. The ordinance provides for fines for any business owner who accepts payment for an hourly rental. The city levies fines of up to $15,000 if the business is facilitating prostitution or sex trafficking, and the owner's certificate of use can be revoked under the law. Shortly after approval, Gables leaders reached out to the city of Miami to request a collaboration for the enforcement of the new law as many motels fall under Miami's jurisdiction.

This year, the resolution to ban hourly room rentals in the city of Miami was to be determined at the May 13th City Commission meeting. Still, the decision was postponed for June after Commissioner Manolo Reyes asked for a deferral during the meeting stating he spoke with Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle about strengthening the ordinance.

Miami City HallGetty Images

"We talked about a lot of different things that could be added to this ordinance," Reyes said. "She would like some time to look at this." Russell, Carollo, Reyes, and Commissioner Jeffrey Watson voted to review the ordinance on June 24.

Elected officials from other Miami-Dade cities have spoken in support of the legislation, including Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago and Oscar De la Rosa, vice president of the Hialeah City Council.

"It's unfortunate for me to say that last night the City Council voted against my item and moved to table with a 4-2 vote. An ordinance to ban the hourly rentals of motels that have seen cases of prostitution, human trafficking and murder (1/2)" - Oscar De la Rosa, vice president of the Hialeah City Council @CityofHialeah.

During an interview with News Break, Díaz de la Portilla argued the ban on hourly-room rentals was an urgent matter and suggested special interests were getting in the way of making a final decision at the City Council.

Councilman Joe Carollo and Manolo Reyes were contacted for this story but did not immediately reply to a request for comment.