Florida Short-Term Rental Laws: What Every Property Owner Must Know

Thinking about putting your Florida property on Airbnb or VRBO? Before you list a single night, you need to know one thing: whether the city or county where your property sits limits whole-home short-term rentals, and whether that limit is enforceable. In the City of Orlando, for example, the city's rules are built around owner-occupied home sharing, so check them before you plan on renting out a whole house you don't live in.

Short-term rentals in Florida run on a split system — a state law that protects them from outright bans, and a patchwork of city and county rules that decide whether you can actually operate. Here's what every property owner has to know before listing.

Is Airbnb legal in Florida?

Yes — short-term rentals are legal across Florida, and state law actually protects them. Florida Statute 509.032(7)(b) bars any city or county from outright prohibiting vacation rentals or regulating how often or how long you can rent, unless the local rule was adopted on or before June 1, 2011. But that protection has a hard limit: local governments still regulate zoning, permits, occupancy, parking, and noise — and that's where most owners get tripped up.

So the honest answer is: Airbnb is legal in Florida, but whether your property can legally operate as a short-term rental depends entirely on its address. A condo in Kissimmee's tourist corridor and a single-family home in a City of Orlando neighborhood live under completely different rules.

"Short-term rental" in Florida has a specific legal meaning. Under Florida Statute 509.013, a transient public lodging establishment is "any unit, group of units, dwelling, building, or group of buildings within a single complex of buildings which is rented to guests more than three times in a calendar year for periods of less than 30 consecutive days or which is advertised or held out to the public as a place regularly rented to guests for periods of less than 30 consecutive days." Advertising short stays can be enough on its own. A condo, co-op, or one-to-four-family home that meets that test, and isn't a timeshare, is a vacation rental under section 509.242. That 30-day line decides licensing and zoning, not tax: the transient rental tax covered below still reaches stays of six months or less.

What is the Florida state framework for short-term rentals?

The Florida framework rests on one statute: 509.032(7). Paragraph (b) reads: "A local law, ordinance, or regulation may not prohibit vacation rentals or regulate the duration or frequency of rental of vacation rentals. This paragraph does not apply to any local law, ordinance, or regulation adopted on or before June 1, 2011." Paragraph (c) adds one more carve-out: "Paragraph (b) does not apply to any local law, ordinance, or regulation exclusively relating to property valuation as a criterion for vacation rental if the local law, ordinance, or regulation is required to be approved by the state land planning agency pursuant to an area of critical state concern designation."

One important exception: any local ordinance adopted on or before June 1, 2011 is outside paragraph (b), and so is the narrow valuation rule in paragraph (c), so the state protection above doesn't reach either.

You may have heard about a sweeping statewide overhaul. That was Senate Bill 280, which would have centralized vacation rental regulation under the state. Governor DeSantis vetoed SB 280 in June 2024, so nothing changed — the pre-existing 509.032 framework still governs.

Can I run a short-term rental in Orlando or Orange County?

This is where most plans fall apart. The City of Orlando's rules are built around owner-occupied home sharing. Whether the city's limit on whole-home short-term rentals is enforceable against a given property depends in part on when it was adopted, so check the city's current rules for your parcel before you plan on renting a whole home you don't live in.

Unincorporated Orange County is separate: different jurisdiction, different rules, different permit. Check the county's current rules and your parcel's zoning before you commit.

If you own a house in Orlando and you don't live there, check the city's current rules for your parcel before you plan on a whole-home Airbnb; if a long-term rental turns out to be your path, our Orlando property management guide covers what that looks like.

The picture changes outside Orlando and Orange County. Osceola County — Kissimmee, Davenport, the Disney corridor — has long-established vacation rental zoning where whole-home STRs are a normal, permitted use. If short-term income is the goal, the property's location decides everything.

Do I need a license to run a short-term rental in Florida?

Yes. Any property that meets the vacation rental definition must be licensed by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) under Florida Statute 509.241 before guests check in. There are two license types: a vacation rental condo license for units in a condominium or cooperative, and a vacation rental dwelling license for single-family homes and buildings of up to four units.

You apply online through the DBPR vacation rentals portal. There's a one-time application processing fee plus an annual license fee that scales with how many units you operate — most single-property owners pay a few hundred dollars a year. Properties three stories or taller need a balcony inspection certificate, and certain guest-facing roles require human trafficking awareness training.

The DBPR license is the state layer. On top of it, most counties and many cities require their own STR permit or registration — Orlando's home-sharing registration, Osceola's vacation rental license, and so on. You need both. A state license does not override a local ban, and a local permit does not replace the state license.

What taxes do I pay on a Florida short-term rental?

Short-term stays in Florida carry two transaction taxes plus regular income tax. First, Florida sales tax of 6%, plus any county discretionary sales surtax, applies to rentals of six months or less. Second, the county tourist development tax — often 5% to 6%, sometimes called the "bed tax" — applies on top. In Orange County the combined tax on a short stay runs into the low double digits.

Register with the Florida Department of Revenue for sales tax and with your county tax collector for the tourist development tax before you collect a single payment. Platforms like Airbnb and VRBO collect and remit some of these taxes in some Florida counties — but not all of them, and not in every situation. Confirm in writing exactly what your platform handles. Whatever they don't collect, you owe.

And the income itself is taxable. Florida has no state income tax, but STR income still goes on your federal return — usually Schedule E, sometimes Schedule C if you provide hotel-like services. Keep records of every rental night and every tax filing. Our Florida rental property tax guide covers how rental income is taxed.

Can my HOA or condo ban short-term rentals?

Yes — and this catches owners who assumed state preemption protected them. Florida Statute 509.032 stops governments from banning vacation rentals, apart from rules adopted on or before June 1, 2011. It does nothing to a private HOA or condo association. If your recorded declaration restricts or prohibits rentals under a certain term, that restriction is enforceable, and many Orlando and Tampa condo associations ban stays under 30 days, 90 days, or even six months.

Read your governing documents before you buy and before you list. An association can fine you and force you to stop. Our guide to HOA rental restrictions in Florida walks through what to look for in the covenants.

What are the most common short-term rental mistakes Florida owners make?

Three mistakes account for most of the enforcement actions and surprise bills:

• Listing first, checking later. Owners put a home on Airbnb without confirming the city even allows whole-home STRs.
• Assuming the platform handles all the tax. Airbnb may collect some taxes in your county and none in another. The unremitted balance — plus penalties and interest — lands on you.
• Skipping the right insurance. A standard landlord policy usually excludes short-term rental use. STR coverage costs more, but a claim denied for an excluded use costs far more.

The cleanest way to avoid all three: do the compliance work — zoning, HOA, DBPR license, local permit, tax registration — before you list, not after the first guest books.

Should I do short-term or long-term with my Florida property?

If you didn't set out to be a landlord — you inherited the house, got relocated, or couldn't sell — short-term rental probably isn't the easy answer it sounds like. STRs are a hands-on hospitality business: turnovers, guest messaging, dynamic pricing, cleaning crews, and the compliance stack above. A long-term lease is far closer to passive.

You don't have to figure this out alone, and you don't need a portfolio to get help — we manage single properties too. If you want a clear-eyed comparison of what your specific Orlando or Tampa property could earn long-term versus short-term, request a free rental analysis. We'll walk through the real numbers and the rules that apply to your address — no obligation.

Frequently asked questions

Did Florida pass a new short-term rental law in 2024?

No. Senate Bill 280 would have centralized vacation rental regulation under the state, but Governor DeSantis vetoed it in June 2024. The pre-existing framework under Florida Statute 509.032 still governs.

What happens if I run a short-term rental in Florida without a license?

Operating an unlicensed public lodging establishment violates Chapter 509 of the Florida Statutes and exposes you to DBPR administrative action. On top of state penalties, local code enforcement can fine short-term rental violations up to $500 per day per violation in some jurisdictions. Get the DBPR license and the local permit before the first booking.