Short-Term Rental Rules in Miami, Miami Beach and the Keys

Short-term rentals are legal in parts of Miami-Dade and the Keys, but not everywhere: single-family homes are off-limits in large parts of the City of Miami and Miami Beach, and many condos and HOAs ban them outright. Where they are allowed, you typically need a local permit, a Florida DBPR vacation rental license and tourist tax accounts. Check the exact address before you buy, not after.

Start with the state rules

• DBPR license: the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Hotels and Restaurants, requires a vacation rental license if you rent a whole house, townhouse or condo more than three times a year for stays shorter than 30 days or one calendar month, or advertise it as regularly available. A single unit costs a $50 application fee, a $10 fee and a $170 annual license fee.
• Preemption: under section 509.032(7) of the Florida Statutes, cities and counties cannot ban vacation rentals or limit how long or how often you rent, unless the rule existed on or before June 1, 2011. They can still require registration, inspections, occupancy limits and parking rules, and zoning rules from before 2011 still apply.
• No new statewide law: as of November 2026 there is no statewide overhaul. A 2024 bill (SB 280) that would have created state registration was vetoed in June 2024, and a 2026 bill requiring pool safety features in rentals died in March 2026.

Rules by area

City of Miami

The city treats short-term rental as a lodging use. Single-family homes and duplexes in the T3 and T4-R transect zones are not eligible, following the City of Miami v. Airbnb litigation. In other zones, owners must confirm zoning, file an operational management plan on the city's template, pull a building permit, get a new certificate of occupancy, obtain the state DBPR lodging license, and then get a new Certificate of Use and a business tax receipt. Condo units need the association to certify that it allows short-term rentals, and if more than 25% of a building's units are short-term rentals, the whole building must meet transient building code standards.

Miami Beach

Rentals of less than six months and one day are prohibited in all single-family homes and in many multifamily buildings, based on the city's zoning map. Properties in qualified zones need a city business tax receipt and a resort tax account, and every listing must display both numbers. The city enforces actively and offers a public tool for renters to check whether a unit is legal.

Unincorporated Miami-Dade

If the property's folio number begins with 30, it is in unincorporated Miami-Dade, and any rental of less than 30 days or one calendar month needs a county vacation rental Certificate of Use before you list it. The CU costs $136.17, including the inspection, and must be renewed every year. Other rules:

• Maximum occupancy of two people per bedroom plus two more, up to 12 (children under 3 are not counted).
• No more than two guest vehicles at a time.
• A responsible party reachable 24/7, a guest register, posted house rules and notice to your HOA or condo board.
• In Estate and Low Density Residential areas, the responsible party must live on the property more than six months a year, which rules out many whole-home investor rentals in single-family neighborhoods.
• Fines for operating without a CU are $100, then $1,000, then $2,500 for repeat offenses within 24 months.

Cities such as Homestead, Hialeah and Coral Gables set their own rules, so check with the city if the property is inside one.

Key Largo and the Keys

In unincorporated Monroe County, which includes Key Largo, a vacation rental is any rental shorter than 28 days. Each unit needs an annual special vacation rental permit, which does not transfer to a new owner, and a vacation rental manager licensed by the county. Vacation rentals are allowed only in certain land use districts. Many canal-front neighborhoods are zoned Improved Subdivision (IS), where they are generally prohibited except in qualifying gated communities. Islamorada, Marathon and Key West have their own programs. See our Key Largo page for the local market.

Tourist taxes

Florida taxes rentals of six months or less. Typical combined rates:

Airbnb collects Florida's state tax and Miami-Dade's county tourist taxes on its bookings. Confirm what your platform collects in your area, register with the Florida Department of Revenue and the local tax collector, and file for any bookings you take directly.

Condo and HOA bans

Even where the city allows it, your association may not. For condos, under section 718.110(13), a new amendment that prohibits or limits rentals generally applies only to owners who buy after it passes or who vote for it. HOAs are different: under section 720.306(1)(h), an amendment that prohibits rentals of six months or less, or limits rentals to three times a year, can apply to all owners. Read the declaration and rules, and ask for minimum lease terms in writing, before you sign. Our Miami condo guide covers what else to review.

Protect your homestead and insurance

Renting out your own homestead can cost you the exemption. Florida law treats renting the entire home for more than 30 days a year for two years in a row as abandonment of homestead, and Miami-Dade warns that using a homestead as a vacation rental can trigger the loss of the exemption and the Save Our Homes cap. See our homestead guide. Also tell your insurer: many standard homeowners policies exclude short-term rental activity.

How we can help

Before you buy a rental, we check zoning, the folio, association documents and local permit history for the exact address, so you know whether nightly rentals are even possible. We work across Miami-Dade, Broward and Key Largo and can run long-term rent numbers too. Visit our investors page or call (786) 545-9222.

Frequently asked questions