The Short Term Rental Regulations Program, regulates vacation rentals in the city of Fort Lauderdale. A vacation rental means any unit or group of units in any individually or collectively owned house rented out to temporary occupants. Hosts can rent out this dwelling unit more than three times a year and less than 30 days. Keep reading to know the most important laws and regulations to operate vacation rentals:
Registration
Hosts in Fort Lauderdale must register short term rentals with the City every year. They must pay a registration fee of $350 for up to 4 rental units under the same roof. Moreover, the renewal registration fee is $160 for non-owner occupied and $80 for owner-occupied short term rentals.
Below are the vacation rental registration requirements. The suggested order to arrange all your documents to apply are:
- Apply for all State and County Licenses.
- Provide a copy of the lease agreement that you give out to your guests.
- Provide proof of property ownership. If a business entity owns the property, proof of ownership will be required.
- Obtain a City of Fort Lauderdale Business Tax License.
- Complete the Vacation Rental Application.
Click here to view the complete Vacation Rental Registration Checklist to ensure all your documents are obtained before applying. If accepted, your application will take three business days to process.
Payment
Short term rental operators need to obtain a Business License from the city. Fort Lauderdale considers running vacation rental properties as a business strategy. The cost of a business license in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, ranges between $80 and $240. The rate depends on the time of the year.
Once the application is processed, an email notification is sent to the applicant. The email consists of their vacation rental account number and a payment link. They will receive another email with an invoice for the business tax fee from the City of Fort Lauderdale Business tax office. After the vacation rental registration and business tax fees are paid, the property is then scheduled for an inspection.
Inspection
There are a set of rules that your investment property in Fort Lauderdale needs to abide by. Fort Lauderdale properties listed on Airbnb go through a home inspection to ensure consistency with these rules. A code officer is notified about the property being ready for inspection upon payment of the fees.
To prepare for inspection, please review the Vacation Rental Inspection Checklist and the Vacation Rental Inspection Guide. If the property fails inspection for some reason, inspectors will conduct a re-inspection after the next ten days. Therefore, the applicant should make sure his property meets all standards before the re-inspection takes place. The initial registration fee covers the cost of the first two inspections. After that, each attempted re-inspection costs an additional $75. After passing the re-inspection, the City issues a Certificate of Compliance within three business days.
Taxes
Along with the other homes in Florida operating short term rentals, those in Fort Lauderdale have to pay taxes. Specifically the 6% Broward County Tourist Development Tax, 6% Florida Transient Tax, and 0.5-1.5% Florida Discretionary Sales Surtax.
Other Short Term Rental Regulations
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. For instance, many apartments prohibit the operation of short term rentals in their housing units. So before buying homes for sale to rent out on Airbnb or other listing websites, remember to check the HOA’s rules.
To find out more, visit Fort Lauderdale’s official website or contact us. Also, feel free to reach out to your landlord, housing authority, or community council.
For Airbnb Management Fort Lauderdale, follow the link.