Miami & Miami Beach Short-Term Rental Laws (2026)
Permits, taxes, caps, and penalties for Airbnb & vacation rentals in Miami & Miami Beach, Florida — from official sources, with citations. Reviewed 2026-07-02.
Prohibited in Most Areas
Short-term rentals (under 6 months + 1 day) are banned in most City of Miami Beach residential districts with aggressive enforcement, while in the City of Miami they are conditionally allowed only where Miami 21 zoning permits lodging and the unit carries a Certificate of Use â plus a statewide Florida DBPR license and multiple tax registrations in both cities.
Can you operate a short-term rental in Miami & Miami Beach?
This market is really two very different jurisdictions. Miami Beach prohibits rentals of less than six months and one day in single-family homes and in multifamily buildings in most residential areas of the city, allowing them only in limited districts and only with full city registration. The City of Miami treats short-term rental as a lodging use governed by the Miami 21 zoning code â it is legal only where the transect zone allows it, and the unit must go through the city's Certificate of Use process (including formal conversion procedures for apartment-hotel/condo-hotel use).
Miami Beach: STRs banned in most residential districts
Renting a single-family home, or units in many multifamily buildings, for less than 6 months and 1 day is prohibited in designated areas of Miami Beach. Illegal operations result in guests being evicted and fines assessed against the owner.
§ Miami Beach City Code Ch. 142, Art. IV, Div. 3, Sec. 142-1111
Miami Beach: full registration where STRs are allowed
In the limited areas where short-term rentals are permitted, operators must obtain an approved Certificate of Use, a Business Tax Receipt (occupational codes 95017300 residential / 95017301 non-residential), and a Resort Tax registration, and submit a notarized affidavit plus supporting documents.
Miami Beach: HOA/condo association sign-off and homestead warning
Registration requires an association letter dated within 60 days confirming the building permits short-term rentals, and a signed acknowledgment that operating an STR may cost you your homestead exemption.
Miami: zoning-dependent under Miami 21 + Certificate of Use
In the City of Miami, short-term rental/lodging is only lawful where the Miami 21 transect zone allows it, and the city publishes specific procedures for converting apartments to apartment-hotel and condos to condo-hotel lodging use. A Certificate of Use (applied for through the MiamiBiz portal, which also generates the Business Tax Receipt application) is the gating approval.
§ Miami 21 zoning code; City of Miami Short-Term Rental/Lodging Procedures
Both cities: Florida DBPR vacation rental license required
Florida requires a state vacation rental license from DBPR's Division of Hotels and Restaurants for transient rentals of condos and dwellings statewide; Miami Beach explicitly requires the state license as part of its STR registration package.
§ DBPR Division of Hotels and Restaurants â Vacation Rentals & Timeshare Projects
Permits & licenses in Miami & Miami Beach
Expect a multi-agency stack in either city: a state DBPR vacation rental license, state/county tax registrations, and then the city-specific approval â Miami Beach's BTR + Resort Tax registration (only in eligible districts) or Miami's Certificate of Use + BTR via MiamiBiz.
- 1
Confirm the property is even eligible
Miami Beach: verify the address is in a district where sub-6-month rentals are legal (the city offers an address lookup at its Practice Safe Renting site). Miami: confirm the Miami 21 transect zone allows lodging before spending anything.
- 2
Get the Florida DBPR vacation rental license
Choose the right classification â Condominium vs. Dwelling license, issued as a Single license (owner-operated) or Group/Collective license (licensed agents only; collective licenses cap at 75 units).
- 3
Register for taxes
Register with the Florida Department of Revenue for sales tax (Miami Beach requires the Florida Annual Resale Certificate in its application) and for Miami-Dade County tourist taxes; in Miami Beach, open a city Resort Tax account.
- 4
City approval â Miami Beach BTR or Miami CU
Miami Beach: submit the STR Business Tax Receipt application with approved Certificate of Use, deed, association letter (within 60 days), state license, resort tax registration, platform listing info, photo IDs, and a notarized affidavit delivered within 2 weeks. Miami: apply for the Certificate of Use and BTR through MiamiBiz, following the short-term rental/lodging conversion procedures where applicable.
- 5
Keep everything current
Renew the BTR and state license on schedule and keep filing resort/tourist taxes â Miami Beach pursues BTR non-renewal and illegal-operation cases before its Special Magistrate.
Fees: Application, license, and inspection fees apply at the state (DBPR) and city (CU/BTR) levels; amounts vary by license type and were not confirmed on the pages fetched â see the DBPR guide and each city's fee schedule.
Short-term rental taxes in Miami & Miami Beach
Short-term rental income in this market is hit at three levels: Florida state sales tax on transient rentals (6 months or less), Miami-Dade County tourist taxes, and â inside Miami Beach â the city's own 4% resort tax. Platforms may collect some layers, but the Miami Beach resort tax account is the host's responsibility.
| Level | Tax | Rate | Collected by | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Florida sales tax on transient rentals (+ county surtax) | see source | Varies | see source |
| County | Miami-Dade tourist development / convention development taxes | see source | Varies | see source |
| City | Miami Beach Resort Tax (transient rentals of 6 months or less) | 4% | Host | Monthly by the 20th for the prior month (qualified annual filers by May 20) |
These rules change — Miami & Miami Beach can amend them any month.
Compliance Watch monitors Miami & Miami Beach's official sources and emails you the day permits, caps, or taxes change: what changed, old vs. new, and what to do. $49/yr per property, 100% credited toward Tenby.
Watch my FL property →Operating rules
Miami Beach: operate only with active CU, BTR and Resort Tax account
All three must stay current; the city's occupational codes distinguish residential (95017300) from non-residential (95017301) short-term rentals.
§ Miami Beach Short-Term Rental Requirements
Miami Beach: platform listing disclosure
The city's STR application requires you to disclose your platform listing information, and enforcement staff cross-check listings against the legal-rental database that renters can also search.
§ Practice Safe Renting program
Miami Beach: association authorization must stay valid
Condo/HOA buildings must permit STRs â the application letter must be dated within 60 days, so a building rule change can end your ability to operate.
§ Miami Beach Short-Term Rental Requirements
Miami: maintain the lodging Certificate of Use
Operating as lodging outside the approved CU (or in a transect zone that doesn't permit it) is a code violation; conversions to apartment-hotel/condo-hotel use follow the city's published procedures.
§ City of Miami Short-Term Rental/Lodging Procedures; Miami 21
Both: DBPR license class must match how you operate
Owner-operators use a Single license; only licensed agents may hold Group (one complex) or Collective (up to 75 scattered units) licenses â a licensed agent may not hold a Single license.
§ DBPR Vacation Rentals & Timeshare Projects guide
Penalties for illegal short-term rentals in Miami & Miami Beach
Miami Beach is one of the most aggressive STR enforcement environments in the country: illegal rentals lead to guest evictions and fines against the owner, with cases heard by a Special Magistrate. The City of Miami enforces through zoning/code enforcement tied to the Certificate of Use.
- ⚠Miami Beach: for illegal short-term rentals, 'the tenants/visitors will be evicted and fines assessed against the owner' (city Practice Safe Renting program).
- ⚠Miami Beach: five-figure per-violation fines for illegal STRs are widely reported and reflected in city enforcement practice; exact current amounts were not confirmed on the pages fetched this session â verify the current Sec. 142-1111 fine schedule before pricing risk.
- ⚠Miami Beach: separate code enforcement fines apply for operating without or failing to renew a Business Tax Receipt, prosecuted before the city's Special Magistrate.
- ⚠Miami Beach: registration requires acknowledging potential loss of your Florida homestead exemption â a significant hidden financial penalty of converting a homesteaded property to STR use.
- ⚠City of Miami: operating lodging without the required Certificate of Use / in a non-permitting Miami 21 zone exposes the owner to code enforcement action and closure; fine amounts were not confirmed from official pages this session.
- ⚠Statewide: operating a transient rental without the required DBPR vacation rental license is a violation of Florida lodging regulations enforced by the Division of Hotels and Restaurants.
Official sources
- [1]Practice Safe Renting â City of Miami Beach
- [2]Short-term Rental Requirements â City of Miami Beach
- [3]Vacation / Short Term Rentals â City of Miami Beach
- [4]File/Pay Resort Tax â City of Miami Beach
- [5]How to Convert to a Short-Term Rental/Lodging â City of Miami
- [6]Get a Certificate of Use (CU) â City of Miami
- [7]Guide to Vacation Rentals and Timeshare Projects â Florida DBPR
Summarized from the official sources above as of 2026-07-02. Informational, not legal advice — always confirm requirements with the jurisdiction before acting.
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