Board shuts down agent for Brazilian Court condo owners

Several owners of condominium units at the Brazilian Court will have to find a new way to rent their properties.

The Code Enforcement Board voted 4-3 Thursday to shut down agent Leslie Diver, who managed rental inquiries for eight owners via an online vacation rental site. She also arranged cleaning and laundry services.

Town staff said Diver violated a town ordinance that prohibits using a building or land in a residential district for commercial or quasi-commercial purposes.

We believe that Ms. Diver is conducting a hotel operation within the Brazilian Court Hotel, said Code Enforcement Manager Raychel Houston. Ms. Diver is renting out individual units at the hotel on a nightly, weekly or monthly basis. In effect, she has a competing hotel rental program in addition to the rooms that the hotel is renting themselves.

Timothy Hanlon, Divers attorney, said owners have the right to rent their units and Diver is simply acting as an agent.

She receives no commission from the sales, he said. She doesnt employ any cleaning services, she merely arranges for the work to be done. All the payment is done by the owners. There is no operation of a hotel. I think that is a gross exaggeration.

Diver said she doesnt receive money directly from the website or renters but does charge owners a $200 flat fee plus $25 an hour for additional services.

You are getting paid and its in conjunction with certain services that youre providing, said Code Board Chairman Harris Fried. Youre using that building, the physical edifice, to run a commercial or quasi-commercial business.

Competing rental systems

Owners hired Diver to oversee renting their properties because they couldnt get the hotel to do it, Hanlon said.

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Board shuts down agent for Brazilian Court condo owners