Tampa Short-Term Rental
Regulations & Permit Rules

• Any home or condo rented more than three times a year for stays under 30 days, or advertised as regularly rented, needs a vacation rental license from the DBPR Division of Hotels and Restaurants.
• Fees: $50 application for new licenses and $170 per year for a single unit, including the $10 Hospitality Education Program fee.
• Hillsborough and Pinellas counties are in DBPR District 3, which renews every February 1.
• Florida law (F.S. 509.032) preempts new local bans and limits on rental duration or frequency, but rules adopted on or before June 1, 2011 stay in force, which is why Tampa's and Hillsborough's seven-day minimums still apply.

Source: Florida DBPR Division of Hotels and Restaurants / F.S. 509.032

• The City of Tampa zoning code defines a dwelling unit as being for owner occupancy or for rental, lease, or other occupancy on a weekly or longer basis. Rentals by the day are treated like hotels and bed and breakfasts.
• In Super Host, LLC v. City of Tampa (13th Judicial Circuit, appellate division, December 2022), the court upheld a violation against an RS-60 home near Bayshore rented for two nights. A 2023 appeal (Cherokee House, LLC) reversed a violation because the city could not show an actual stay shorter than seven days.
• Plan Tampa city homes around seven-night minimums or monthly stays.

Source: City of Tampa Code of Ordinances, Ch. 27 / 13th Judicial Circuit appellate decisions

• The City of Tampa repealed its rental certificate and rental registration requirement effective May 4, 2023, but business taxes are still due for residential rental properties inside city limits.
• In August 2026 the City Attorney advised City Council that Tampa would need its own ordinance to run a short-term rental registration program. As of October 2026 none has been adopted, and council asked for a legal update at its November 5, 2026 meeting.

• The Hillsborough County Land Development Code prohibits renting dwelling units for less than seven days unless the unit is in a Resort Dwelling Overlay District. The county states this rule predates 2011, keeping it in force under F.S. 509.032(7)(b).
• On September 2, 2026 the Board of County Commissioners adopted a short-term vacation rental registration ordinance, effective January 1, 2027: a $200 registration renewed every year for each unit, a DBPR license and tourist development tax account, a designated responsible party available 24/7 who can reach the property within one hour, an emergency and house rules placard, the registration number in every ad, and inspections, with a no-show fee for missed inspection appointments.
• Each day of renting without registration is a separate violation. The Board plans to review the ordinance about 90 days after it takes effect.

Source: Hillsborough County BOCC meeting recap, Sept. 2, 2026 (hcfl.gov)

• Stays of six months or less carry 6% Florida state sales tax, a 1.5% Hillsborough County discretionary sales surtax, and a 6% Hillsborough County Tourist Development Tax, 13.5% in total.
• The Tourist Development Tax is due to the Hillsborough County Tax Collector by the 1st of the following month and is late after the 20th.
• Airbnb and Vrbo collect and remit the county tax on their bookings; direct bookings need your own state sales tax registration and county tourist tax account.
• Pinellas County properties across the bay pay 13% (6% state, 1% surtax, 6% TDT).

Source: Hillsborough County Tax Collector / FL DOR DR-15DSS

• A condominium amendment that prohibits rentals or changes rental terms applies only to owners who consent and to later buyers (F.S. 718.110(13)).
• Homeowners associations may adopt rules on rentals shorter than six months and limit rentals to three times a year for all owners (F.S. 720.306(1)(h)).
• Many Downtown, Channel District, and Westchase communities already set minimum lease terms, so read the declaration before closing.