Short-term rentals in Palm Coast, explained properly.

The Article V definition covers rentals of single-family, two-family and multi-family dwellings and also covers a dwelling advertised or held out to the public as a place regularly rented to guests. The excluded class is a multi-family residential building, or group of such buildings, governed by or subject to a property owner's, condominium or homeowners association, or with on-site property management. Related definitions: a sleeping room must be located along an exterior wall, have a closet and a door or place for one, and have an emergency escape and rescue opening under the Florida Building Code; habitable space is space for living, sleeping, eating or cooking and excludes bathrooms, closets, halls, garages and similar areas.

The sample lease must include: names and ages of all occupants; licence tag numbers of vehicles parked at the unit (not more than the on-site spaces shown on the certificate); the maximum occupancy (not above the Sec. 17-71 limits); the maximum number of vehicles; a statement that recreational vehicles, boats and trailers may not be parked in front of the house except for temporary loading, unloading and cleaning; the name, address and 24-hour phone number of the owner, property manager and a secondary contact (any person 18 or older may be designated); the guest's acknowledgment of the City's right to reasonably inspect; and the guest's agreement to comply with Sec. 35-53 sound level limits and other laws. The affidavit certifies that the applicant has received and will comply with Article V, agrees to reasonable City inspection, has completed a background check on the renter, will comply with Fla. Stat. ch. 509 and Florida Administrative Code Rule Chapters 61C and 69A, and will comply with the occupancy standards. The City's page also lists a registration checklist, posting requirements form and affidavit form in its forms library.

Sec. 17-68(a)(7) requires the application fee in an amount established by resolution of the City Council. The City's registration page says the fee is established by City Council Resolution 2025-05 (subject to amendments) and lists the resolution's fee structure as a PDF in its forms library. The resolution text and its effective date were not read, so no dollar amount is stated here.

Sec. 17-69(a): registrations are valid for 12 months from initial issuance, and renewal applications and fees are due on or before expiration. If, before expiry, the number of sleeping rooms or habitable space or the maximum occupancy is proposed to be increased, a new application with the Sec. 17-68(a)(1) through (a)(9) information must be submitted. Sec. 17-69(b): when reviewing a renewal the City considers the property's violation history, and if there are pending violations of Article V it shall not renew unless all outstanding violations, fines or liens are satisfied and corrected.

Sec. 17-68(a)(3): the responsible party responds to routine inspections and non-routine complaints. The owner may serve or designate any person 18 or older. The duties are to be available by phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week; to come to the unit within two hours after notice from an occupant, the owner or the City; to accept service of legal notices for violations; and to monitor the unit at least once weekly. The designation does not relieve the owner of responsibility, and a responsible party who accepts is held to the owner's standard and may be cited. There can be only three responsible parties for a rental at a time, and changes are made by written form to the City.

Sec. 17-71(2): occupancy is limited to two transient occupants per sleeping room or habitable space, with a maximum of ten transient occupants per short-term vacation rental, and the maximum does not apply to transient occupants three years of age or younger. The City's registration page summarizes the limit as ten people. The lease and advertising must match the maximum occupancy on the certificate.

Sec. 17-71(3) applies to all vehicles associated with the rental, whether in the control of the owner, responsible party or occupants. The number of vehicles in the lease cannot exceed the on-site parking spaces designated on the certificate (Sec. 17-68(a)(2)). The City's registration page lists a general swale-parking reminder (no parking on the lawn or street, and none in the first 15 feet from the pavement edge between 1:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.); the code is stricter for short-term rentals and this page follows the code.

Sec. 17-71(4): all trash and debris must be in covered containers; each unit needs at least one trash storage container per four transient occupants or fraction of four; schedules of garbage and recycling pickup must be posted within the rental agreement; and containers go to the curb no earlier than 6:00 p.m. the night before pickup and come in no later than 6:00 a.m. the day after emptying. The City's registration page says containers must be removed before midnight on pickup day; the code controls.

Sec. 17-71(1): swimming pools, spas and hot tubs must meet the current Florida Building Code; sleeping rooms must meet the Florida Building Code single- and two-family dwelling minimums; smoke and carbon monoxide alarms must meet the Florida Building Code, Residential; a portable multi-purpose dry chemical 2A:10B:C fire extinguisher must be installed, inspected and maintained under NFPA 10 on each floor or level, on a wall in an open habitable space or an enclosed space with visible markings; and battery powered emergency lighting must provide illumination automatically on loss of power for at least 90 minutes.

Sec. 17-72(7) requires the posting to give notice to comply with Sec. 35-53 (sound level limits) of the City Code and that quiet hours are to be observed between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. daily or as superseded by any City noise regulation. The text of Sec. 35-53 was not read, so the actual sound limits are not stated here. The City's registration page gives the same evening quiet time of 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.

Sec. 17-72: the page must be on the back of or next to the main entrance door, or on the refrigerator, and show: the name, address and phone number of the owner or property manager; the maximum occupancy; the maximum number of vehicles; the prohibition on RVs, boats and recreational trailers except for temporary loading, unloading and cleaning; the location of an evacuation route map within the property; the location of the nearest hospital; the notice to comply with Sec. 35-53 and quiet hours; trash and recycling days; canal boating regulations; and a notice that animals must be leashed when off the owner's property under Sec. 8-31(f) of the City Code. The City's forms library has a unit posting form.

Sec. 17-68(a)(9): any advertising of the unit must conform to the information in the short-term vacation rental certificate and the property's approval, particularly maximum occupancy, and must include that the property is located in a residential community. The City's registration page repeats this and says all listings must state that the property is in a residential community.

Sec. 17-73 requires the responsible party to obtain confirmation of a nationwide background search that the prospective renter is not a registered sexual offender, and the prospective renter certifies that all guests in the rented unit are not registered sex offenders. The text says the background check can be done through a vacation rental platform such as Airbnb or Vrbo. The affidavit in Sec. 17-68(a)(8) covers the same check.

Sec. 17-74 makes non-compliance with any provision of Article V a violation of the City Code. Sec. 17-75: warnings are issued for first-time violations with a correction period, and may include notice to other agencies such as DBPR, the Department of Revenue, the Flagler County Tax Collector and the Flagler County Property Appraiser; non-compliance with the correction period results in a citation; the City uses the code enforcement board under Fla. Stat. ch. 162 to prosecute violations, hold hearings and assess fines under the statute and the City Code; and the City may seek injunctive relief, liens and other civil and criminal penalties and refer matters to other agencies. The dollar amount of fines was not in the text read.

Florida Statutes § 509.032(7)(b) says a local law, ordinance or regulation may not prohibit vacation rentals or regulate how long or how often they are rented. Local rules adopted on or before June 1, 2011 are exempt from this limit, so some older local rules on rental length can still apply. Section 509.032(7)(a) also reserves the regulation of public lodging establishments (sanitation, inspections and similar matters) to the state, while local governments keep building-code and fire-code inspections. Local governments can still require registration and set other rules that do not ban rentals or limit their length or frequency.

The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), Division of Hotels and Restaurants, licenses vacation rentals. A license is needed when an entire unit is rented more than three times in a calendar year for periods of less than 30 days or one calendar month, whichever is less, or when the unit is advertised or held out to the public as a place regularly rented to guests. Houses, townhouses and buildings of up to four units take a Vacation Rental – Dwelling license; condominium and cooperative units take a Vacation Rental – Condominium license. Renting single rooms rather than the whole unit does not need a DBPR license, though local rules may still apply. Current licenses must be displayed in a conspicuous place on the premises.

New DBPR vacation rental applications pay a $50 application fee, a $10 Hospitality Education Program fee and a license fee. For a single rental unit the full-year license fee is $170 (half-year $90); group licenses for 2 to 25 units are $180 (half-year $95), with higher tiers for more units. Renewals pay the $10 education fee plus the full-year license fee. Renewal and half-year dates depend on the county's DBPR district.

Anyone who rents, leases, lets or grants a license to use transient accommodations must register with the Florida Department of Revenue to collect, report and remit sales tax.

Florida's 6% state sales tax, plus any applicable county discretionary sales surtax, applies to rent paid for living, sleeping or housekeeping accommodations rented for six months or less.

Counties (and certain cities) may add a local option transient rental tax, such as a tourist development tax, on rentals of six months or less, on top of the 6% state sales tax and any surtax. The Department of Revenue's rate table lists each county's rate and who collects it. Most counties administer the tax themselves, and in those counties it is reported and paid directly to the county rather than to the state.