Short-term rental rules · Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Short-term rentals in Fort Lauderdale, explained properly.
Fort Lauderdale allows vacation rentals but requires each one to register with the city, pass a safety inspection and hold a Certificate of Compliance, on top of state and county licenses. Registration costs $880 including the first inspection. Occupancy is capped at two guests per legal bedroom, guests must park off-street, and a responsible party must be reachable 24/7 and able to show up within an hour. Certificates expire every September 30 and renew for $650 ($200 if homesteaded). The city actively fines unregistered listings, and a September 2026 amendment set a $1,000-per-day penalty for operating without a valid or with an expired certificate; repeat violations lead to certificate suspensions. Guests pay 13% in combined taxes.
At a glance
What you need to know before you buy or list
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| City registration, inspection and Certificate of Compliance | Before applying to the city, every vacation rental must hold, in order, a Florida DBPR vacation rental license, Florida Department of Revenue sales tax registration, a Broward County Business Tax Receipt and Broward County Tourist Development Tax registration (a notarized letter can substitute for the tax registrations if a platform collects and remits). A code officer schedules an inspection within three business days of the application, a failed property is reinspected in ten days, and a Certificate of Compliance is issued within three business days of passing. Applications left pending more than 30 days after the owner is notified are closed [1] |
| $880 registration; $100 reinspection | Registration for up to 4 units under one folio, including the first inspection, is $880. Safety inspection, reinspection or no-show fees are $100, and transferring the rental agent is $50 [1] |
| Renewal $650, or $200 if homesteaded | Annual renewal is $650 for non-owner-occupied rentals and $200 for owner-occupied (homestead-exempted) properties. Certificates expire September 30 every year and renewals are due August 1; a $100 late fee applies after that. Renewals not fully submitted and paid by September 30 are processed as new applications ($880) with a new inspection. Non-owner-occupied rentals are inspected at renewal; homestead properties that renew on time are not [2] [3] |
| Two persons per legal bedroom | Maximum occupancy is two persons per legal bedroom, verified by the inspector [1] |
| No on-street guest parking | Lease agreements must include a sketch or photo of the off-street parking spaces and the statement 'No on-street parking permitted' [1] |
| Responsible party on site within an hour | A secondary source reports the responsible party must be reachable 24 hours a day and able to show up in person within an hour of being notified of a problem [3]Confirming |
| $1,000 a day for operating without a valid certificate | On September 15, 2026 the City Commission approved an ordinance amendment setting a civil penalty of $1,000 per day for advertising or operating a vacation rental without a valid Certificate of Compliance, and raising the penalty for operating with an expired certificate from $250 to $1,000 per day. Operators whose complete, timely renewal is still pending only because of city processing are protected, changes in ownership, entity or management company do not erase existing violations, and the certificate-suspension provisions were revised. Earlier, in April 2026, the special magistrate fined more than a dozen unregistered rentals, commonly a $500 citation plus $1,000 per day past a 24-hour compliance window (one property was fined $17,000). A secondary source describes suspensions of 180 days for a third violation and 365 days for a fourth; that ladder predates the September 2026 amendment and has not been confirmed in the code [4] [5] [3]Confirming |
| Combined tax 13% | 13% combined: 6% Florida state sales tax, 1% Broward County discretionary sales surtax and 6% Broward County tourist development tax. Broward administers its tourist development tax locally, so it is registered and filed with the county rather than the Florida Department of Revenue [6] [7] [8] [3] |
| Florida DBPR license; state bars local bans | Florida requires a DBPR vacation rental license when a whole unit is rented more than three times a calendar year for less than 30 days or one calendar month, or is advertised as regularly rented to guests; renting single rooms does not need a state license but local rules still apply. Florida Statutes 509.032(7)(b) bars local governments from prohibiting vacation rentals or regulating the duration or frequency of stays, except under rules adopted on or before June 1, 2011, so cities like Fort Lauderdale regulate through registration, inspection and occupancy standards. No 2026 state law changed this: CS/SB 280 (2024) was vetoed and CS/CS/SB 658 (2026, water safety for rentals) died on March 13, 2026 [9] [10] [11] [12] |
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We checked the city's Vacation Rental Program, Registration and Renewal pages, Florida DOR tax forms (GT-800034, DR-15DSS, DR-15TDT), the DBPR vacation rental guide, Florida Statutes 509.032 and 2026 state bills, plus news of the city's August–September 2026 ordinance amendment. Code Chapter 15, Article X (Municode) could not be loaded; the one-hour response rule and suspension ladder still come from a secondary source, and the adopted amendment's ordinance number and effective date were not found. Watch the city program pages and the Municode supplement for the amended text.
Approved September 15, 2026 after a first reading on August 19, 2026. Sets a $1,000-per-day civil penalty for advertising or operating without a valid Certificate of Compliance, raises the expired-certificate penalty from $250 to $1,000 per day, shields timely renewals pending on city processing, keeps violations attached through ownership or management changes, and revises the certificate-suspension provisions. Effective date and ordinance number not yet published on the city page.
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This page is general information compiled from public sources, not legal or tax advice. HOA rules, deed restrictions and zoning for a specific property can be stricter. Confirm with the local permitting office and a qualified professional before buying or listing a property.