Where in Florida has restricted short term rentals?

Faraday1
Level 2
Jacksonville, FL

Where in Florida has restricted short term rentals?

I would like to invest in a Florida beach property for airbnb short term rental.

I found a lot of very reasonably priced beach properties in Ormond Beach by the Sea.  When I spoke to a realtor he said Ormond Beach was restricted to do short term rentals- and it would apply to all the Ormond By the Seas properties.  I was really bummed to hear that.

What has been the host experiences with Florida Cities or counties that restrict short term rentals.  What cities or counties are off limits to me?

 

Thanks for your feedback

10 Replies 10
Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

Probably best to short list the areas you like and then check with their local government to see if there are restrictions.  I think there is a website where you can find which areas in Florida have restrictions - perhaps do a Google search.

 

It makes sense there will be more holiday accommodation available in areas with STR restrictions @Faraday1 

thank you Helen.  That is what I am trying to do.  I didn't realize that there were these kinds of restrictions so I am glad I am learning now rather than learning the hard way later.

@Faraday1  What you should realize is that even areas that don't have restrictions could bring them in at some point in the future- this has happened to many hosts. So investing in a property for the sole intention of listing it as a short term vacation rental isn't necessarily a sound business model. If it's a place you would use yourself, or consider renting out long term on a lease arrangement, then you have a plan B if local regs change. But if you need the str higher income to pay the mortgage, etc, you could find yourself in dire straits, as many hosts who were overleveraged did when all their bookings got cancelled and refunded due to COVID.

Sarah,

 

That is a great point that I had not even considered - so thanks for bringing that to my attention.  I had been doing calculations on some of the expensive beach properties and was certainly relying on the higher short term rental prices as part of that.  

@Faraday1  We should never think of strs as a guaranteed income. So many things can happen even apart from local restrictions - guests could trash the house, requiring extensive repairs and meaning you have to cancel upcoming reservations, guests can convince Airbnb to issue them refunds for some made-up reason, there can be weather events, like hurricanes, that can lead to cancellations or damage to the home, guests can cause a disturbance to the point where neighbors complain and manage to get you shut down. Or Airbnb suspends your account due to some scammer guest claiming it had bedbugs.

 

And also don't be fooled by Airbnb's so-called million dollar guarantee. You will need your own str insurance. And enough savings to tide you over for a couple of months in case things go sideways.

 

 

Spend some time reading through posts here to get an idea of the things hosts have to deal with. Anyone who thinks it's going to be easy money usually gets a wake-up call. 

 

Some listings are easy to manage, like mine which is just a private room for one guest in my home. But stand alone vacation homes require a lot of work.

thanks for the  great feedback and advice.  You have sure have given me a lot to think about. That is really helpful to consider all the possible occurrences.  Thanks for taking the time to list those possible consequences for me.

Did you find a data base with that information, I have the same question and its hard to find unless you go to each individual city or local government, I have no time for that. Thanks

John5097
Level 10
Charleston, SC

@Faraday1 @Sarah977 

Sarah was spot on with her assessment. You would need to check with each county, city, and individual neighborhoods that may be in HOA. You also have to consider loss of income from hurricanes and flooding. The insurance can vary and be quite high, not even available, and can't count on it covering damages. On the bright side hurricanes do teach you to plan ahead. Its a risk and have to calculate how many years you would need to rent to break even and hope for the best. 

The state of Florida has passed legislation restricting counties and municipalities from restricting short term rentals, however, if the county or municipality had a statute on the books that restricted short term rentals prior to 2011 then those statues are "grandfathered".  So, you'll need to check the county and municipality you are interested in buying your property to determine if they have restrictions that were part of the code before 2011.

Tric and Monee

 

@Frank--Tric-0

 

Hello I am running into some trouble finding short term

policies.   It seems alot of companies don't want to do

it unless you use a Professional Management company too?

Do you have a company I could call and do you do your own

management?

thank you 

@Sandi173