A special magistrate on July 22 found that advertising for a multi-unit vacation-rental property at 79 South Brevard Ave. in Cocoa Beach “can be misleading” and ordered the owner to change the listings by Aug. 27, 2025 or face a formal compliance hearing in September.

The ruling addressed whether online listings for four separately licensed two-bedroom vacation units, which are sometimes promoted together, could reasonably be interpreted as a single rental with a higher occupancy than allowed. The magistrate dismissed two alleged violations tied to chapter 26 (maximum occupancy/site capacity) but concluded there was a violation of section 13.1-4 for misleading advertisement.

Why it matters: The outcome clarifies that advertising practices for clustered vacation units can trigger municipal enforcement even where each unit’s registration complies with occupancy limits. The magistrate said the issue could be resolved by changing ad language, and he directed the city and the property owner to work together on wording.

Francis Duggan, who identified himself at the hearing as the owner of 79 South Brevard Ave., told the magistrate he operates four individually licensed two-bedroom vacation units and that each unit complies with the city’s per-unit occupancy limits. “My name is Francis Duggan, and I'm the owner of 79 South Brevard Avenue. I operate 4 individually licensed and registered 2 bedroom vacation rental units at this property,” Duggan said.

City staff presented screenshots of listings on multiple platforms that the city said advertised all four units together with aggregate occupancy figures such as “sleeps 16” or “sleeps 20,” and argued that some listings’ header language could lead a prospective renter to believe a single rental accommodates that larger number. The city sought enforcement under chapter 13.1-4 for misleading advertising and had also alleged violations of chapter 26.5 (maximum occupancy/site capacity), but agreed to dismiss those chapter 26 allegations at the hearing.

The magistrate described the listings as ambiguous and said that ambiguity could be misleading to typical readers. “The advertisements … are at least ambiguous, but if they're ambiguous, they're ambiguous to the point of being misleading,” the special magistrate said. The magistrate said the city would work with Duggan to correct the language and gave Duggan until Aug. 27 to bring advertisements into compliance. If the violations are not remedied, a compliance hearing likely scheduled around Sept. 10 will consider daily fines.

Duggan said he limits occupancy to fewer than the permitted maximum—he said he limits units to five guests each—and that the property has noise monitors and other measures to protect neighborhood peace. He also provided examples of combined-unit listings from other Florida beach cities and said combined advertising is industry practice.

The magistrate declined to delete all of Duggan’s listings and instead directed a language change so the ads clearly reflect per-unit occupancy limits. The city confirmed it will remove the chapter 26.5 allegations and proceed only on section 13.1-4.