Orlando, Florida Short Term Rental Regulations

City Code of Ordinances

In the City of Orlando, a short-term rental is a rental period of fewer than 30 days. Orlando has some of the most restrictive laws in the entire state regarding short-term rentals, at least where single-family homes are concerned. This is perhaps partially owed to the fact that elsewhere in Orange County, listings like those found on Airbnb are not permitted. Before 2018, Orlando outlawed all short-term rentals; as of 1 July that year, however, Orlando changed its policies to allow for two types of short-term rentals: Home-Sharing and Commercial Dwelling Unit.

Home-Sharing
You can use your single-family home or other accessory dwelling units as a short-term rental provided:

• You are the owner and full-time resident at the property (Orlando prohibits the short-term rental of entire, unhosted units; only home-sharing is approved)
• You rent to only one party (or parties) at a time
• You rent no more than half of the bedrooms in your dwelling
• You maintain a capacity of no more than two people per room and no more than four non-relatives per dwelling

While these stringent home-sharing rules can curtail a short-term rental business, they do come with the benefit that home-shares can exist in any zoning type in the City.
Commercial Dwelling Unit
Those who own commercial dwelling units, such as a vacation rental condominium, can rent the entire unit but cannot operate in a residential zone of the City.

Find your property's zoning district and view the table of allowable uses at orlando.gov/zoning. Not all uses are allowed in all categories. Zoning for Home Share and Bed & Breakfast is listed in their respective code sections.

Business License Requirements

Hosts can Apply Online for Home Sharing Registration. Hosts will have to pay an annual fee to register for home-sharing. The fee is $275 for the first year. For each year after that, the owner will have to pay $100 if they reside on the property and $125 if the property is non-owner occupied. 

Building and Housing Standards

Living spaces must be properly inspected and permitted. Do-it-yourself conversions, such as enclosure of a garage or carport, will not be allowed to rent until an inspection is finalized. Note that creating additional bedrooms could potentially affect your property tax appraisal. Contact the office of the Orange County Property Appraiser for more information.

Tourist and Local Taxes

Short-term rental hosts in Orlando must additionally collect lodging taxes from their visitors. The State collects a 6% Transient Tax and a 0.5% County Discretionary Sales Surtax. Moreover, Orange County collects a 6% Tourist Development Tax. 

Other Rules

As a responsible host, you must comprehend and abide by other vacation rental rules and 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 Orlando's official website.