Cocoa Beach, Florida Short Term Rental Regulations

City Code of Ordinances

The city of Cocoa Beach allows vacation rentals and has no minimum night requirement. Cocoa Beach city defines vacation rental as defined under Florida Statutes. F.S. 509.242 further provides for a subset of transient public lodging establishments, called "vacation rental," which is any unit or group of units in a condominium or cooperative or any individually or collectively owned single-family, two-family, three-family, or four-family house or dwelling unit that is also a transient public lodging establishment, but that is not a timeshare project. The City of Cocoa Beach regulates vacation rentals as defined by Florida Statutes and other transient public lodging establishments located in the  RS-1 single-family residential zoning district of the City of Cocoa Beach, which collectively is referred to herein as "vacation rentals."

Business License Requirements

Vacation rental registration is required within the city of Cocoa Beach. A Licensure with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation for a transient public lodging establishment is also required. Check out this Vacation Rental Registration Checklist for more information.

Building and Housing Standards

The maximum occupancy of a vacation rental shall be stated in the vacation rental registration form and shall be limited to the lesser of:  (1) Two (2) occupants (as defined herein) per bedroom (as defined herein), plus two (2) occupants.  (2) A total of eight (8) occupants per vacation rental. All vehicles associated with the vacation rental must be parked in compliance with the City of Cocoa Beach Code of Ordinances. All the vehicles related to the vacation rental must be parked within a paved parking space or driveway located on the subject property. There shall be no sidewalk, on-street, right-of-way, common area, or grass parking. Refer to the Vacation Rental Compliance Requirements and Standards, Residential Rental Property Checklist, or you may contact the Development Services Department for more information.

Tourist and Local Taxes

Obtain and maintain Brevard County Business Tax Receipt (if applicable), Florida Department of Revenue certificate of registration for purposes of collecting and remitting tourist development taxes, sales surtaxes, and transient rental taxes, Brevard County Tax Collector for Tourist Development Tax; and Department of Business and Professional Regulation license as a transient public lodging establishment.

Other Rules

In each vacation rental, there shall be provided, in a prominent location on the inside of the Vacation Rental: 

• The official street address and on-site phone number of the vacation rental. 
• The vacation rental owner's name, address, and phone number or responsible party as applicable.
• The maximum occupancy of the vacation rental.
• A printed copy of the Vacation Rental Lease Agreement Addendum
• The maximum number of vehicles that will be allowed to park at the vacation rental, along with a sketch of the location of the paved off-street parking. 
• The days and times of trash and recycling pickup.  Phone number and address of Cape Canaveral Hospital, Cocoa Beach, and Health First Viera Hospital, with directions from the vacation rental to the hospital.  
• Emergency and non-emergency phone numbers for Cocoa Beach Police and Fire.  
• Emergency evacuation instructions.
• A legible copy of the building evacuation map shall be posted next to the interior door of each bedroom and the exterior doors exiting the vacation rental, exiting the building evacuation map – Minimum 8-1/2" by 11".

 As a responsible host, you must comprehend and abide by other contracts or regulations that bind you. These include leases, community rules, HOA rules, or other guidelines set up by tenant associations. Feel free to reach out to your landlord, housing authority, or community council to find out more. To get more information about other regulations, you can also visit Cocoa’s Beach's official website.