Understanding Miami and Miami Beach Short-Term Rental Regulations

Miami and Miami Beach, Florida are two of the most frequented vacation destinations in the United States, making them both very popular cities for short-term rentals. To operate a short-term rental in Miami and in Miami Beach, there are a variety of state, county, and city requirements and regulations one must abide by. Below is a comprehensive breakdown of the short-term rental regulations for the state of Florida, the county of Miami-Dade, and the cities of Miami and Miami Beach.

Short-Term Rental Summary

1. Obtain Florida state DBPR licence (dwelling or condominium).
2. Register with the Florida Department of Revenue .
3. Obtain a Miami-Dade Certificate of Use.
4. Check if your property is in a permissible transect zone in Miami or Miami Beach.
5. Obtain a Certificate of Use if in the City of Miami.
6. Obtain a Resort Tax Registration Certificate if in the City of Miami Beach.
7. Obtain a Business Tax Receipt from the City of Miami or Miami Beach.

Short-Term Rental Requirements in Florida

In order to operate a short-term rental in Florida one must obtain a lodging business licence from the state. This licence is obtained by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) and can be held by an owner or by a licensed agent depending on the size and structure of your vacation rental business. Prospective hosts will also have to register to collect, report and pay sales tax and surtax with the Florida Department of Revenue(registration requirements document).

There are two different types of vacation rental licences issued by the state of Florida, which is dependent on the type of building you’re planning to offer for short-term rental. If you’re living in a condominium or cooperative, you’ll need a vacation rental condo licence, and if in a unit or group of units that are single-family homes, townhouses, duplexes, triplexes, or quadruplexes you’ll need a vacation rental dwelling licence.

The Florida DBPR licence for vacation rentals in Miami-Dade County expires on October 1st of each year and has a full year fee of $170 and a half year fee of $90, along with a $50 application fee ($220 total for a full year licence or $140 total for a half year licence). Vacation rental operators with multiple rental units can opt for group licences, and can use the online licence fee calculator to calculate the application fee for multiple units.

Short-Term Rental Regulations in Miami-Dade County

Once a property owner has met the requirements put forth by the state of Florida, the county of Miami-Dade also has specific short-term rental regulation one must abide by. Firstly, if a home is part of a condominium or homeowner’s association, one must obtain written authorisation from the relevant association regarding the operation of their short-term rental.

To operate a short-term rental in Miami-Dade county, one must obtain a Certificate of Use from Miami-Dade County. Applicants will need attestation of their registration with the Florida Department of Revenue for tax purposes, licence or intention to obtain a Florida vacation rental licence, and insurance coverage to cover liability for injury or harm to transient occupants or other invitees. Once prepared, one can obtain the Certificate of Use from the Miami-Dade’s Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources by filling out the online application form or in person at the Miami-Dade County Permitting and Inspection Centre at 11805 SW 26th Street.

The costs for the Miami-Dade County Certificate of use come to:

• $36.70 Certificate
• $89.97 Inspection
• $9.50 Surcharge
• Total: $136.17

When you’ve paid the application fees and submitted your application, you’ll be prompted to schedule an inspection within 10 business days of filing and paying for the application. At this inspection, you’ll be asked to provide all licences, records, and any other documentation to show you are fully compliant with the state of Florida and Miami-Dade County’s vacation rentals requirements. Once you’ve completed the inspection, you will receive a Certificate Number and you will be able to print out your Certificate of Use. The certificate must be printed out and placed in a visible location on your vacation rental property.

The Miami-Dade’s Certificate of Use is valid for a year, and can be renewed annually as long as all requirements are still met and there are no outstanding fines or liens for violations of Miami-Dade’s County Code. If an unforeseen circumstance arises prior to your scheduled date of inspection, you can reschedule your inspection by calling Miami-Dade County’s Zoning Permits Section at (786) 315–2660. You can find Miami-Dade County’s specifications regarding short-term rentals on their short-term vacation rentals webpage.

Additional Miami-Dade County Short-Term Rental Requirements

For properties in designated Estate or Low Density Residential areas, the responsible party or host must reside in the short-term rental property for more than six months per calendar year. You can check the CDMP Land Use Plan Map to see which areas are designated as Estate or Low Density Residential zones.

Along with zone requirements, the responsible party of a short-term rental must maintain a register with the names and dates of stay of all guests, which is open to inspection by the Miami-Dade county.

Swimming Pool Safety Requirements

The county of Miami-Dade also specifies that short-term rental homes with swimming pools cannot allow guests under the age of six unless the swimming pool has at least one of the following safety features:

• Pool safety barrier
• Pool safety cover
• Pool alarm
• Door latch/alarm

For short-term rental hosts who have a swimming pool at home, but do not have one of the listed safety features, they will need to prohibit children under the age of six from staying at their listing. This requirement is not applicable if the short-term rental is part of a condominium which has a community swimming pool available to residents.

City of Miami Short-Term Rental Requirements

Short-term rentals in the City of Miami are currently highly restricted due to the current ongoing litigation between Airbnb and the city of Miami. The City of Miami has proposed an “Apartment Hotel” category of land use for the city, which is distinguished from lodging use and residential use. You can find information about the Apartment Hotel category of land use in the following section.

Short-term rentals are allowed in the City of Miami’s structures that are approved by the building department for the use of lodging in certain transect zones. You can see Miami’s transect zones and a structure’s current permitted land use (residential, lodging, commercial) by visiting the official Miami zoning map. From the map, if you click on Tools near the top-right corner, select the Layers button and enable the layer named “ZoningMiami21” you’ll be able to see an overlay of Miami’s various transect zones. You will need to zoom in to see the labels of the transect zones, and to see a structure’s current and future land use you will need to click on the structure on the map, and select the Land Use tab.

Lodging is only allowed (with certain exceptions) in the following zones:

• T4-R: allowed by warrant
• T4-L & T4-O: allowed by right
• T5-R: allowed by exception
• T5-L & T5-O: allowed by right
• T6-R: allowed by exception
• T6-L & T6-O: allowed by right
• CI-HD: allowed by right
• D1: allowed by right

You can apply for a warrant permit and an exception permit from the City of Miami’s webpage.

If your property is in a transect zone that allows for use of lodging, but has a different land use approval, you can apply for a change of use with the City of Miami by submitting this form to the Building department of Miami. In order to process a change of use with the Building department, you must have your property’s floor and site plans signed by either an architect, engineer, or general contractor with approval to conduct business in the State of Florida and the City of Miami. Be aware that to be approved for a change of use, your building must comply with all lodging building codes and fire codes.

It is recommended that you also call Miami’s zoning department at (305) 416–1499 or the Miami-Dade county contact number (311), and provide them with the address of the property you’re looking to short-term rent. The city organises a call back to inform you if your property is permitted to operate a short-term rental. You can also check your property’s eligibility for short-term rental in person by going to the City of Miami’s Building & Zoning department at 444 SW 2nd Ave., Miami, Florida 33130.

Once you’ve determined your property is in a permissible transect zone and its land use is categorised as lodging, you will need to obtain a Certificate of Use and a Business Tax Receipt from the City of Miami before operating. In order to obtain a Certificate of Use for short-term rental, you must provide Miami’s office of Zoning with a certificate of occupancy issued by the Building Department, reflecting your building’s approval for lodging land use.

Apartment/Condominium Hotels in the City of Miami

Due to the ongoing litigation, the city of Miami has determined that an “Apartment Hotel” or “Condo Hotel” is a permitted use which is distinguished from lodging use and residential use. The city intends to solidify their information and documentation regarding Apartment Hotels as litigation proceeds, with all the current known information about this new land use category found below.

Apartment Hotels are only permitted in transect zones marked T4, T5, T6, and CI-HD. The city plans on creating separate Certificate of Use and Business Tax Receipt categories to be issued to Apartment Hotels.

In the city’s first memorandum regarding Apartment Hotels, it’s specified that the building shall contain a registration guest and lobby, with any guests or occupants required to register at the desk before accessing the unit. This being noted, the city is not currently enforcing this specification when it comes to short-term rental inspections, and is possibly subject to change.

Miami Beach Short-Term Rental Requirements

Short-term rental hosts in Miami Beach must obtain a business tax receipt and a resort tax registration certificate in order to list their property for short-term rental. Miami Beach’s old online application for the resort tax registration certificate is available until August 31st, 2019, however prospective applicants and current certificate holders are advised to register at the new website, where they can also find the registration form for resort tax registration.

Before applying for a short-term rental business tax receipt, prospective Miami Beach hosts are advised to:

1. Check with the Miami Beach Zoning department (305) 673–7550 to verify if your building is eligible for short-term rental.
2. Check with the Miami Beach Building department (305) 673–7000 ext. 6675 to verify if you must first obtain a change of use building permit.
3. Your building must have a current and active business licence of its own.
4. If your building has any violations from the Fire Prevention Division (305) 673–7123, Code Compliance Department (305) 673–7555, or Building Department (305) 673–7610 ext. 2555, 6382, or 6045, your Business Tax Receipt application will be put on hold.

The costs for the business tax receipt and resort tax registration come to:

• $69.00 Licence
• $57.50 Fire fee
• $45.00 Application fee
• $25.00 Resort Tax Application fee
• Total: $196.50

One can apply online for the business tax receipt or in person at the City of Miami Beach’s Finance Department, which is located on the first floor of 1755 Meridian Ave., Miami Beach, FL 33138. Once your application has passed review and approval, a fire inspection is scheduled, and if passed your application returns for a final review with the city of Miami Beach’s Finance Department.

The penalty for operating a short-term rental without a Business Tax Receipt from the City of Miami Beach is a $20,000 fine for a first offence, with each following offence fine increasing by $20,000.

City of Miami Beach’s Short-Term Rental Zoning

Along with the business tax receipt and resort tax registration certificate, the City of Miami Beach has strict zoning requirements prohibiting and limiting the short-term rental of homes in certain areas. The Miami Beach map of short-term rental limitations outlines which areas prohibit short-term rentals, and which ones have limitations.

Short-term rentals of apartment or townhome residential properties in the districts zoned RM-1, RM-PRD, RM-PRD-2, RPS-1, RPS-2, CD-1, RO, R0–3, or TH are not permitted unless under specific exemptions. Many of these zones are in Miami Beach’s single-family residential districts, where short-term rentals are not permitted. This official zoning map by the city of Miami Beach’s Planning Department provides an annotated look at Miami Beach’s various transect zones, making it easier to identify single-family residential districts.

In North Beach, short-term rentals are highly restricted, but can be operated if they meet a variety of requirements. Reservations in this area are only permitted for the entire home for a minimum of seven nights, and are subject to resort taxes. Along with these specifications, the application for a Certificate of Use for short-term rentals in North Beach has an accompanying application fee of $1000. You can read the complete list of specifications for North Beach under section 142–1111 (d).

We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the regulations discussed in this article. Regulations often change on a regular basis, and we advise you to research the current regulations for your location. While we do our best to keep the information updated, if you find an error, omission, or something that needs an update, please let us know.

Miami and Miami Beach’s Short-Term Rental Regulations Infographic

Useful Links Related to Miami and Miami Beach Vacation Rentals

While this article covers a lot of information about operating vacation rentals in Miami and Miami Beach, you might still have additional questions or uncertainties. Below are some helpful links to websites which contain additional information.

Florida Department of Revenue: http://floridarevenue.com/taxes/eservices/Pages/registration.aspx

Florida Department of Revenue — Registration Requirements: http://floridarevenue.com/taxes/Documents/flRegistrationRequirements.pdf

My Florida Licence — Vacation Rental Condo: https://www.myfloridalicense.com/intentions2.asp?chBoard=true&SID=&boardid=200&professionid=2006

My Florida Licence — Vacation Rental Dwelling: https://www.myfloridalicense.com/intentions2.asp?chBoard=true&SID=&boardid=200&professionid=2007

Miami-Dade County — Short-Term Vacation Rentals Specifications: https://www.miamidade.gov/building/standards/residential-short-term-vacation-rentals.asp

Miami-Dade County — Certificate of Use: https://www8.miamidade.gov/Apps/RER/CUVacationRentals/

Miami-Dade County — CDMP Land Use Plan Map: https://gisweb.miamidade.gov/landmanagement/CommonApp/index.html?config=appConfigs/cdmp.json

City of Miami — Miami Zoning Map: http://maps.miamigov.com/miamizoning/

City of Miami — Certificate of Use: https://www.miamigov.com/Services/Doing-Business/Get-a-Certificate-of-Use-CU

City of Miami — Business Tax Receipt: https://www.miamigov.com/Services/Doing-Business/Get-a-Business-Tax-Receipt-BTR

City of Miami — Permit and Change of Use Form: http://archive.miamigov.com/building/Docs/DropdownForms/permitapplication.pdf

Miami Beach — Business Tax Receipt: https://www.miamibeachfl.gov/city-hall/finance/business-tax-receipts-btr/

Miami Beach — Resort Tax: https://secure.miamibeachfl.gov/resorttax

Miami Beach — Resort Tax Registration Form: https://www.miamibeachfl.gov//wp-content/uploads/2017/08/registration-20application.pdf

Miami Beach — Short-term Rental Limitations Map: https://www.miamibeachfl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Short-Term-Rentals-3.pdf

Miami Beach — Zoning Map: https://www.miamibeachfl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/zoning2019-2-14-2019.pdf

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