Magistrate orders two Walton County properties to register short-term rentals by April 10; a third case continued

A magistrate at a Walton County code-enforcement hearing ordered two properties to be brought into compliance with the county's short-term rental registration rules by April 10, 2026, and warned that $500-per-day fines would begin after that date if owners did not comply. The court also continued a separate case to May 13 to give county attorneys time to determine whether the county can recover multi-year back fees.

The hearing record shows the county seeking a standard 48-hour compliance window and the imposition of $500 per day for continued advertising or operation as a short-term rental. "All we're asking for is to have the back fees settled," a county representative told the magistrate during a discussion of enforcement options. The county entered an affidavit estimating revenue from one listing between January 2023 and December 2025 at $92,374.56, which it offered as evidence of the scale of alleged noncompliance.

For case CESTR 260069, the magistrate found sufficient evidence that the property at 10 West Palm Beach Street in Miramar Beach is in violation of Walton County Land Development Code 1.13.16A (short-term vacation rental certificate requirements) and ordered the property owner Marion Brown to bring the property into compliance on or before April 10, 2026. The magistrate said: "I'll order that the property must be brought into compliance on or before April 10th, 2026." He added that if the property is not brought into compliance by that date, "a $500 per day fine will shall be imposed." The order also requires payment of an $89.20 administrative fee within 30 days.

Marion Brown told county staff he had not received prior contact until that day but had called back and said his mother-in-law was living in the property and he would remove the listing from advertising "by Friday," according to the county's record of the exchange. The county's evidence packet includes a printout from a short-term-rental platform and an affidavit stating that Mr. Allen physically verified registration and GIS records.

In case CESTR 260083, involving a property listed to Sonya Smith at 11 Driftwood Road, unit 5, Miramar Beach, the magistrate likewise found a violation of 1.13.16A. Officer Sloan told the magistrate the office had contacted Ms. Smith about three weeks earlier but that she did not return calls. The magistrate ordered the property brought into compliance by April 10, 2026, set the same $500-per-day penalty to begin if compliance was not achieved, and required the $89.20 administrative fee within 30 days.

On the first case heard, the magistrate said he was not confident he had authority, on the record before him that day, to compute and impose fines stretching back multiple years without county legal guidance and the presentation of evidence establishing the number of rentals and the amounts claimed. He offered the county the option to continue that case to allow attorneys to research relevant code sections; with no objection from the county, the magistrate continued that matter to May 13 and said the county could submit additional evidence in the meantime.

The magistrate closed evidence, said he would sign orders offline for the cases resolved that day, and adjourned the hearing.

What happens next: Owners ordered to comply by April 10 face daily fines thereafter until compliance; the case continued to May 13 will return after the county provides legal authority and supporting calculations if it seeks multi-year back fees.