logo
pine
Try for free
HomeShort-Term Rental LawsFlorida

State guide

Florida Short-Term Rental Laws: State Rules, Taxes, and Local Permits

Florida STR rules explained with current official sources: statewide duties, local permit boundaries, tax responsibility, failure points, and an address-level action plan.

  • 100+ U.S. cities
  • Official sources
  • Address used only for local rules

Compliance layers

Four Layers to Verify Before Your Florida Property Goes Live.

State Framework

Understand the statewide rules, tax layer, and authority given to cities and counties.

Local Permit

Match the address to the correct city or town permit, notice, renewal, and operating rules.

Tax Obligations

Check state and local licensing, filing, and marketplace collection responsibilities.

County Records

Verify the separate rental-registration or property-record steps for the relevant county.

Direct answer

Florida STR rules at a glance

A Florida vacation rental can require a DBPR public-lodging license, state tax registration, and city or county registrations or safety inspections. Florida preemption limits newer local ordinances from prohibiting vacation rentals or controlling rental duration/frequency, but it does not erase all local rules, and ordinances adopted on or before June 1, 2011 have different treatment. Verify the property class and ordinance history before operating.

Vacation-rental class
Florida classifies qualifying condominiums, cooperatives, and one-to-four-family dwellings used as transient public lodging as vacation rentals.Use the DBPR classification guide to decide whether a license and collective or single license structure applies.
State license
DBPR is the state licensing destination for vacation rentals covered as public lodging establishments.A tax registration or local certificate is not a substitute for the applicable DBPR license.
Local preemption
A local law generally may not prohibit vacation rentals or regulate their duration or frequency.The restriction does not apply to local laws adopted on or before June 1, 2011; building and fire inspection authority also remains.
Transient-rental taxes
Florida sales tax applies to taxable transient accommodation charges, and county tourist development or local-option taxes may use a separate collector.Register with the correct state and local tax agencies based on the property address.

  • State compliance is not address approval

    Use the statewide rules below as the base layer, then verify the exact city, county, parcel, dwelling, and booking channel. A tax account or platform listing does not by itself authorize an STR in Florida.

    Warning

Local decision rule

Decide which Florida rules control the address

Florida is a layered-license state, not a “state preemption means no local compliance” state. DBPR controls the public-lodging license. Florida DOR and sometimes a county collector control taxes. The city or county can retain building, fire, registration, business, and other locally lawful duties, with older ordinances receiving special treatment under § 509.032.

  • Classify the dwelling and rental operation

    Confirm the unit is a vacation rental under § 509.242 and whether DBPR treats it as a single, group, or collective license application.

    Required

  • Find the controlling local ordinance date

    Do not apply the preemption rule without checking whether the relevant local prohibition or duration rule predates or postdates June 1, 2011.

    Required

  • Split state and locally administered taxes

    Determine which county tax is remitted through Florida DOR and which tourist-development tax must be filed directly with a county tax collector.

    Required

Money and filings

Florida tax, platform, and recordkeeping split

Florida DOR’s transient-accommodation guidance controls state sales tax registration and taxable rental charges. Use that rule as the starting point for a Florida booking-channel ledger that names the collector, government destination, return, and closeout evidence.

Taxable period and charges
Florida DOR’s transient-accommodation guidance controls state sales tax registration and taxable rental charges.
Marketplace evidence
A platform’s collection can vary by tax and county. Keep the agreement and transaction statements, and confirm whether a return is still required.
Separate license renewals
Track DBPR license renewal separately from city or county registration, business tax receipts, and local tax accounts.

Failure conditions

Mistakes that can invalidate a Florida STR plan

The statute preserves specified local authority and treats pre-June 2011 laws differently. Obtain the actual ordinance and adoption history. The additional Florida failure conditions below also change eligibility, the responsible filer, the amount due, or the evidence needed to defend the operation.

  • Reading preemption as blanket immunity

    The statute preserves specified local authority and treats pre-June 2011 laws differently. Obtain the actual ordinance and adoption history.

    Required

  • Applying for local registration before DBPR classification

    If the dwelling fits the vacation-rental class, the state lodging license is a separate prerequisite and may affect the local application.

    Required

  • Assuming one tax payment covers all Florida taxes

    State sales tax and county tourist taxes may have different administrators, account numbers, returns, and platform agreements.

    Required

Address-specific rules

Florida city and county STR guides

Statewide Florida rules cannot decide the local permit for a parcel. After confirming the property is inside the named jurisdiction, use its guide for the applicable zoning, documents, fees, renewal, and enforcement path.

Miami Beach Short-Term Rental Laws

Vacation/Short-Term Rental Business Tax Receipt, eligibility, tax, documents, operating rules, and renewal.

Orlando Short-Term Rental Laws

Orlando Home Sharing Registration, eligibility, tax, documents, operating rules, and renewal.

Fort Lauderdale Short-Term Rental Laws

Fort Lauderdale Vacation Rental Registration, eligibility, tax, documents, operating rules, and renewal.

More verified guidance

Available Local Guides

Explore the published state and local guides currently available in this jurisdiction.

Bradenton, FL Short-Term Rental Laws (2026)

Bradenton STR compliance starts with vacation rental certificate, then connects the cited zoning, safety, operating, and renewal controls to the actual property.

Clearwater Short-Term Rental Laws (2026)

Clearwater, Florida STR compliance: Clearwater prohibits rentals shorter than 31 days or one calendar month on residentially zoned property; address-level zoning controls the result. Review property eligibility, Zoning Confirmation and Applicable Business Tax Receipt, Florida vacation-rental licensing, and renewal actions from official sources.

West Palm Beach, FL Short-Term Rental Laws (2026)

West Palm Beach STR compliance starts with city rental tax license, then connects the cited zoning, safety, operating, and renewal controls to the actual property.

Delray Beach, FL Short-Term Rental Laws (2026)

Delray Beach STR compliance starts with landlord permit, then connects the cited zoning, safety, operating, and renewal controls to the actual property.

Fort Myers Short-Term Rental Laws (2026)

Fort Myers, Florida STR compliance: Fort Myers requires a current Business Tax Receipt before conducting rental business and applies City zoning and inspection review. Review property eligibility, Business Tax Receipt, Florida vacation-rental licensing, and renewal actions from official sources.

Jacksonville Short-Term Rental Rules: Duval Tax, Fire and License Checklist

Check a Jacksonville address for zoning, complete Florida and Duval registrations, arrange the required fire review, and understand the 13.5% lodging-tax stack.

Marco Island, FL Short-Term Rental Laws (2026)

Marco Island STR compliance starts with city ordinance status, then connects the cited zoning, safety, operating, and renewal controls to the actual property.

Davenport, Florida Short-Term Rental Rules and Tourist Tax

Source-backed Davenport STR tax guidance: 12% for the scoped ordinary transient lodging scenario, with the local collector, taxable fee pool, boundaries, and filing duties explained.

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Qualifying vacation rentals classified as public lodging establishments are licensed through DBPR. Confirm the property and license category in the official guide.

Section 509.032 generally bars newer local laws from prohibiting vacation rentals or regulating duration/frequency, but laws adopted on or before June 1, 2011 are excluded from that paragraph and other local authority remains.

Florida DOR administers state sales tax and some local taxes, while some county tourist taxes are administered locally. Platform collection must be verified tax by tax.

No. It satisfies the applicable state public-lodging layer, but local registration, building/fire, business, tax, zoning, and older-ordinance issues can still apply.