PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla.
 The Panama City Beach Fire Inspections division has received approval for a new software program that will better help them monitor short-term rentals for compliance.

The software will improve the registration and renewal process for fire inspections, helping ensure that all short-term rentals are safe.

The city says they have previously used Excel spreadsheets to monitor and track the rentals.

Panama City Beach officials say the inspections are needed to make sure overcrowding and building exits do not slow down renters in the case of an emergency.

“We feel like that there’s probably about 3,000 short-term rentals in the city that are not complying with the current laws, so we’re going to be looking to eradicate that issue,” said Panama City Beach Council Member Mary Coburn, Ward 3.

The estimated implementation time frame for the fire inspection software is 12 weeks.