City of Miami cites ‘Animal House’ condo for operating as illegal hotel

City code inspectors cited one of Miami’s largest condominiums for breaking the law by operating as a hotel, reinforcing the effort to shut down hundreds of short-term vacation rentals causing chaos at the Brickell tower.

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The citation for unpermitted use at The Club at Brickell Bay was mailed to its condo association board and attorney on Tuesday night by Code Enforcement Inspector Bickenson Jean-Noel. If board members fail to comply within 10 days, they would be summoned to a Code Enforcement Board hearing tentatively scheduled for Dec. 9 at City Hall where they could be fined as much as $5,000 per day.

The Club, a 43-story tower classified as a multi-family residential condo, does not have a Certificate of Use to run as a condo-hotel, an omission first revealed by the Miami Herald. A Herald search for the certificate turned up a 19-year-old document, covered with scribbled notes, that does not authorize nightly lodging. The document was also forged, according to a former Club officer who said he never applied for or signed it.

“Lodging use of the structure is outside the scope of the issued Certificate of Use,” the code enforcement citation states. “Violation Corrections Required: Must apply for appropriate Certificate of Use and cease Unpermitted Lodging Activities.

“Operating a business without all required licenses is illegal under state and city law and is punishable by criminal arrest and/or closing the business.”

About 500 of The Club’s 643 units have been converted into Airbnbs since COVID struck in 2020, and misbehaving guests have given the building an “Animal House” reputation. Absentee investors act as hosts or hire property managers to handle bookings, packing as many as 14 people into formerly 2-bedroom units subdivided with unpermitted walls.

READ MORE: ‘Save your condo before it’s too late.’ How Miami condo turned into ‘Animal House’

The former condo board president installed a GraceSoft reservation system in the office. The five current board members are all in the Airbnb business and none live in the building.

The partying hasn’t stopped despite an Aug. 11 order from the city that illegal Airbnb activity was causing a “significant life safety issue” and all rentals of less than 30 days must “cease immediately.” Full-time residents who have sought relief from the city for years say their quality of life continues to be disrupted by rude and dangerous strangers.

READ MORE: City orders Miami condo to ‘cease immediately’ all illegal vacation rentals

“City officials have realized they have a bomb in their hands, and they better act before it explodes,” said Ernesto Cuesta, president of the Brickell Homeowners Association and an advocate for condo residents who are fighting the proliferation of unregulated short-term vacation rentals in their neighborhood.

Read more City of Miami cites ‘Animal House’ condo for operating as illegal hotel

Obtaining a condo-hotel Certificate of Use for The Club – built in 2004 and marketed by developer Tibor Hollo as “a masterpiece in urban living” – would likely be a lengthy and costly process requiring modifications to the building to ensure it would comply with fire safety, engineering, environmental, security and ADA regulations.

Alternatively, owners could comply by reverting their Airbnb units to long-term monthly or yearly rentals, but, depending on their occupancy rates, they could lose half the revenue they make with nightly rentals of $300 and up.

“How do our board members sleep at night?” said longtime owner Christina Lardon. “Probably because they don’t live here.”

Board president Maria Sindia Borras and vice president Jessiana Escontrela and board attorney Javier Zayas Bazan did not return messages from the Herald about the citation. The board has not made an announcement about it to the community.

One of those board members, Escontrela, is a managing partner at Park Place Properties, which provides “full service Airbnb management, fees from 10 percent.” The firm’s website says “we maximize your revenue” and displays photos of “Airbnb Friendly buildings,” including The Club.

If you look up The Club, 1200 Brickell Bay Drive, on Apple or Google Maps, it is listed as a hotel.

“The citation sends a bold message to our board,” Lardon said. “However, I envision further plundering of our HOA funds to pay the legal fees and fines associated with the violations. It’s hard to believe they continue to utilize and even weaponize our HOA money for their illegal business pursuits. And they do it very quietly, ignoring their fiduciary duty of transparency.”

The board has also retained Bercow Radell Fernandez Larkin & Tapanes, a politically connected Miami law firm known for representing real estate developers seeking project approvals, rezonings and variances from local government.

The board, elected in June, has made repairs to the pool, parking garage and laundry room and has beefed up security. But residents say the stream of Airbnb guests in and out of their lobby, around their swimming pools and up and down on the overtaxed, malfunctioning elevators has not abated.

Police calls are a bit less frequent, they say. But on Aug. 4, police responded to an emergency at 2 a.m. A 20-year-old college student visiting from Turkey fell to his death from the balcony of a 34th-floor Airbnb. His friend told police the man had been drinking and smoking marijuana.

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This story was originally published October 22, 2026 at 6:23 PM.