Miami Beach shuts down 'party house,' owner and tenant ordered to pay over $300K in fines
MIAMI BEACH — The owner and tenant of the multimillion-dollar "party house" on 1776 Bay Drive in Miami Beach will cease to offer short-term rentals and pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, the city announced Friday.
"Upon review of the complaint and injunction motion, each of the defendants agreed to stipulate to a consent injunction that protects the city from any further nuisance conduct and provides for the payment of fines, the total amount of which will approximate $389,000," stated Miami Beach City Attorney Rafael A. Paz.
According to a previous report by CBS News Miami, Miami Beach filed a lawsuit against the property's owner and tenant on Thursday in Miami-Dade County Court on Thursday, and sought a temporary and permanent injunction to enjoin the defendants from "maintaining a public nuisance" on the property together with court costs.
The defendants -- owner Stephen Krause, The Nightfall Group LLC and Scott Weissman -- were accused of operating an illegal short-term rental business with rates up to $7,650 per night. According to the Miami Beach City Code, short-term rentals are defined as "any rental for fewer than six months and a day."
"This is a victory for the law-abiding residents of Miami Beach who had to put up with endless parties and raucous behavior in this single-family neighborhood," said Miami Beach City Commissioner Alex Fernandez, who sponsored a resolution earlier this year endorsing efforts by the city to file lawsuits if necessary to enforce quality-of-life ordinances, including short-term rental and noise regulations.
"We're ready, willing, and able to strongly fight against the illegal commercial use of residential property to protect the quality of life in our neighborhoods."
Under the agreement with the city, Krause agreed to "vet, in a manner to be approved by the city," any prospective tenants for the property to confirm that they do not intend to use or advertise the property for short-term rentals or other nuisance events, the city stated.
Meanwhile, Weissman agreed not to hold "any possessory or ownership interest in any property within the city's territorial jurisdiction" for one year and not host any commercial parties or events at any residential property in Miami Beach for three years from the date of the consent decree.
Since Feb. 8, 2022, Krause and Weissman had been cited with at least 45 city code violations, according to the city's lawsuit.
"While parties raged on at the property, including a birthday celebration with a cake featuring the City's cease and desist notice on decorative frosting, the City's Code Compliance Department and City Attorney's Office were quietly amassing the documentary record necessary to establish that the property is a 'public nuisance' and that a court order was appropriate to enjoin any further unlawful conduct on the property," Paz added.