Short-term rentals in Pompano Beach, explained properly.

Sec. 153.08(B) says the permit, when issued, pertains only to the individual property owner for use at one specific property. A separate permit is required for the same owner to operate a short term rental at any other location, and a new permit is required if ownership of the property is transferred.

The permit term is one year, from October 1 to September 30, and the owner must renew before expiration to avoid interruption of permitted rental activity and must pay the renewal fee (Sec. 153.08(C)). Renewal may be subject to an annual inspection where there is a history or current activity of code noncompliance; if the owner fails to reply to three City attempts to contact them about scheduling an inspection, the permit is not renewed. A permit not renewed when due is delinquent and subject to a penalty equal to 25 percent of the renewal permit fee for the unit, imposed on January 1 following the delinquency date. While delinquent the permit is inactive and no rental activity may occur. A short term rental that does not have its permit renewed within a year of its term is ineligible for renewal and must re-apply.

Sec. 153.08(D)(2) lists a nonrefundable application fee: $675.00 for a single family or duplex and $750.00 for a triplex or quadplex on the initial application, and $375.00 for renewal. The City's application submittal sheet (marked 'Modified: 07/16/2026') lists the same three amounts and says that once the application is processed the applicant gets an email to make payment and to call to schedule the inspection. Neither source shows the effective date of the fee schedule, so we are treating the amounts as unconfirmed until the schedule date is found. The City's older tri-fold (printed 12/21/22) says fees are paid on submittal; the current sheet's payment-after-processing wording is used here. Inspection no-show and admittance-denied fees are on the Compliance inspection line, and the $100 administration fee for a withdrawn application is on the Application review line. City and Broward County business tax receipt fees haven't been reviewed.

Sec. 153.08(D) requires: a permit or renewal application; the nonrefundable fee; a detailed exterior site plot plan (property lines, parking spaces, pool, spas, hot tubs, garbage receptacle storage and screening, fences); a detailed interior floor plan (bedrooms, exits, fire extinguisher locations); a copy of the standard rental or lease agreement; a business tax receipt from Broward County; a Florida DBPR transient public lodging license, if required; proof of registration with the Florida Department of Revenue for sales tax and with Broward County for tourist development tax, if required; an acknowledgment that there are no pending code violations, prior recurring nuisance activity or unsatisfied liens on the property or on other Pompano Beach property owned by the same owner; and the name, address and 24-hour phone number of the owner, the operator and the Local Designated Representative. The City's application sheet adds a copy of the current Pompano Beach business tax receipt and an authorization letter if someone applies for the owner.

The Development Services Director determines within 30 calendar days whether an application is complete, and notifies the applicant of any deficiencies within 30 calendar days. The applicant may correct and resubmit within 30 calendar days of that notice; if not, the application is considered withdrawn and a nonrefundable $100 administration fee applies, with all other fees refunded. The Director does not process an application further until it is complete (Sec. 153.08(E)).

Inspections are scheduled when the application process is complete, by appointment with the Local Designated Representative. Inspectors from the Code Compliance Division, Building Inspections Division and Fire Department may inspect all short term rental units to check compliance with the City Code, the Florida Building Code and the Florida Fire Prevention Code. If violations are found they must be corrected and the unit re-inspected before the permit is issued, and the property may not be rented until it is re-inspected and a permit is issued. After three failed attempts to contact the owner or complete an inspection, or if admittance is denied, the City gives a 'Notice of Failure of Inspection', which is itself a violation. A $50 no-show fee applies when an appointed 24-hour contact person does not admit the inspector, and a $50 admittance denial fee applies when admittance is denied (Secs. 153.08(F) and 153.11(C)). The Director may require an inspection for a renewal.

The Development Services Department issues the permit after the owner has shown compliance with the City Code, the Florida Building Code and the Florida Fire Prevention Code and all violations found at inspection are corrected (Sec. 153.08(G)(1)). Failure to show compliance, evidence of present or recurring nuisance activity, or a Special Magistrate finding of two or more code violations related to the short term rental within a ninety (90) day period results in denial. Written notice of denial, with the factual reasons and the Code citation, is provided within 30 calendar days. The applicant may reapply when the deficiencies are cured. A denial may be appealed to the Zoning Board of Appeals; an applicant denied for nuisance activity may instead request a hearing under Sec. 37.12(B)(2).

A Local Designated Representative is an individual over 18 who lives or has a permanent place of business in Palm Beach, Broward or Miami-Dade County and is designated by an absentee owner to receive notices and service of process from the City. The application must give the name, address and 24-hour phone number of the owner, the operator and the Local Designated Representative, who must be responsive and responsible in managing the property (Sec. 153.08(D)(10)). Each owner must have a 24-hour contact person available seven days a week while the structure is rented, who may be the owner, a property management company representative or the local designated representative (Sec. 153.33(F)). Absentee owners must give the City the representative's name, address, email (if available) and phone number (Sec. 153.33(G)). Service of notice on the Local Designated Representative is treated as service on the owner and occupant (Sec. 153.08(I)(6)).

At the commencement of tenancy the landlord must install working, hard-wired smoke detection devices that meet NFPA requirements, or test and maintain existing ones; battery-powered approved smoke alarms are permitted in single-family and two-family dwellings that existed before January 4, 2002 (Sec. 153.33(D)). Owners of single-family homes used for rental that provide housing for eight or more persons must provide an approved fire alarm system connected to a monitoring service that detects smoke and heat (and carbon monoxide where gas appliances are used), with an annual approved maintenance and testing program and records kept for City inspection, to the extent not pre-empted by federal or state fire regulations (Sec. 153.33(E)).

Sec. 153.26(D) adds duties for the 24-hour contact person of a short term rental: be available and have authority to address or coordinate problems 24 hours a day, seven days a week; be situated within 25 miles of the rental; keep the entire property free of garbage and refuse (storing garbage in authorized receptacles is allowed); see that Sec. 153.26 is complied with and promptly address violations; and inform all occupants before occupancy of the rules on parking, garbage and refuse, noise and outdoor musical performances. The publisher's note on Sec. 153.26 says Ordinance 2022-42 (adopted 4-12-22) amended the section and the amendment text will be added when the ordinance is codified, so this text may be out of date.

Sec. 153.26(C) says occupancy of a short term rental is limited to that permitted in the underlying Zoning District and in no case greater than two persons per bedroom, in addition to the occupancy standards in Sec. 153.33(E). The maximum occupancy under Sec. 153.23 (interior standards) must be posted in the unit and shown in advertisements. The zoning occupancy limit and Sec. 153.23 haven't been reviewed. The publisher's note on Sec. 153.26 says Ordinance 2022-42 (adopted 4-12-22) amended the section and the amendment text will be added when the ordinance is codified, so this text may be out of date.

Sec. 153.26(A) applies to short term rentals, in addition to the driveway standards in Sec. 153.19(C): overnight parking of more than one automobile per bedroom is prohibited; at all times automobiles must be parked in an approved off-street parking space or driveway, and parking in a swale, landscaped area or the public right-of-way is prohibited; and overnight parking of commercial and recreational vehicles is prohibited. 'Overnight' means between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. (Sec. 153.05). The publisher's note on Sec. 153.26 says Ordinance 2022-42 (adopted 4-12-22) amended the section and the amendment text will be added when the ordinance is codified, so this text may be out of date.

Sec. 153.26(B) requires a minimum of one 32 gallon refuse container per bedroom. Containers must be stored behind the front or street side building line where they are not visible from public rights-of-way or abutting property owners; any form of chain link fence, even with slats, is not acceptable screening. All trash and debris on the property must be kept in covered refuse containers. The publisher's note on Sec. 153.26 says Ordinance 2022-42 (adopted 4-12-22) amended the section and the amendment text will be added when the ordinance is codified, so this text may be out of date.

Sec. 153.26(E) lists what must be posted or prominently displayed or otherwise provided to all occupants: the name, address and phone number of the Local Designated Representative; the maximum occupancy; a statement that sound crossing a property line at an unreasonably loud volume is unlawful; a sketch of the off-street parking spaces; trash pickup days and times; the nearest hospital; the local non-emergency police number; and, if the rental is within 1,000 feet of a school, school bus stop, day care, park, playground or similar place where children gather, a statement that it may not be rented to or occupied by a person convicted of listed offenses against victims under 16. Sec. 153.26(F) requires a building evacuation plan (at least 8½ by 11 inches) for the renter at the start of each rental, and Sec. 153.26(G) requires posted notice that unreasonably loud noise is prohibited and occupants must comply with the City noise ordinance. The publisher's note on Sec. 153.26 says Ordinance 2022-42 (adopted 4-12-22) amended the section and the amendment text will be added when the ordinance is codified, so this text may be out of date.

Sec. 153.26(I): a short term rental may not be advertised for any commercial or non-residential use. Advertising by the owner, representative or any service must conform to the application and must identify at a minimum the maximum occupancy permitted. Advertisements must display the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation Transient Lodging license number and the City's short term rental permit number. The owner must keep the City's list of listing sites current, and must cancel advertisements if the property is no longer used as a rental; any advertising is sufficient evidence of short term rental use for enforcement. Sec. 153.08(I)(7) adds that no advertisement for the rental may occur during a period of revocation. The publisher's note on Sec. 153.26 says Ordinance 2022-42 (adopted 4-12-22) amended the section and the amendment text will be added when the ordinance is codified, so this text may be out of date.

Sec. 153.26(H) limits a short term rental to one special event per fiscal year (October 1 through September 30), as defined in Sec. 132.27, and requires a permit under Sec. 132.27(D). Special events include party rentals and other uses that would substantially inhibit the usual flow of vehicular or pedestrian traffic. Short term rentals are prohibited from giving or hosting outdoor musical performances. Sec. 153.26(J) says a rental may be equipped with a noise level detection device that alerts the owner, operator, Local Designated Representative and tenants, with data kept for 180 days and available to the City on request. Sec. 132.27 hasn't been reviewed. The publisher's note on Sec. 153.26 says Ordinance 2022-42 (adopted 4-12-22) amended the section and the amendment text will be added when the ordinance is codified, so this text may be out of date.

A code inspector or law enforcement officer who finds a violation issues a warning notice with 30 calendar days to comply, except that no warning or time to correct is needed for a repeat violation, a serious threat to public health, safety or welfare, an irreparable violation or itinerant or transient violations (Sec. 153.08(I)(1)(a)). If the violation continues, an officer may issue a Notice to Appear for prosecution in County Court under Sec. 10.99, or an inspector may cite the owner to the Special Magistrate for Code Enforcement (the city may choose one forum, not both, when owner and principal operator are the same). Violations must be corrected and re-inspected within 30 calendar days, with a fine under Chapter 37 until corrected; any violation may be punished by citation with a fine consistent with Chapter 37 plus revocation of the permit. The city may also seek injunctions, abatement, liens and other remedies. Violators may not obtain or renew a City business tax receipt until in compliance. The dollar amounts in Chapter 37 haven't been reviewed.

Sec. 153.08(H)(1) lists the grounds: a false statement or concealment of a material fact in the application; a final order or judgment directing termination of the use as a short term rental; uncured failure to pay or prove payment of Broward County Tourist Development Tax; uncured failure to keep or prove the DBPR license, Department of Revenue registration or Broward County tourist tax registration, when required; uncured failure to comply with the City Code, Florida Building Code and Florida Fire Prevention Code; uncured present or recurring nuisance activity; or a Special Magistrate finding of two or more code violations related to the rental (including off-street parking, unlawful noise and garbage) within a ninety (90) day period. The owner may appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals, or to the Special Magistrate where revocation rests on the final-order, code-compliance, nuisance or two-violation grounds. A written notice of appeal must reach the Department of Development Services within 10 days of receiving notice of revocation; a timely appeal holds the revocation in abeyance until decided. If revocation is upheld there is no refund of the annual fee for the unexpired term. No occupant may occupy the rental during revocation.

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.