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/STAY · LOCAL RULES · FORT LAUDERDALE, FL

Fort Lauderdale vacation rental rules

Every vacation rental in the City of Fort Lauderdale has to be registered and pass an inspection before it gets a certificate of compliance. The city also lists what has to hang inside, down to a map by every bedroom door.

Checked on Nov 11 2026 against the official pages below

The three things to know

PERMIT

A city certificate of compliance: $880 to register (first inspection included), then $650 a year ($200 if it's your homestead). Renew by Aug 1; every certificate expires Sept 30. You need your Florida DBPR license, tax registrations and business tax receipts first.

DOOR NOTICE

The certificate goes on or next to the inside of the main entrance door. Also posted inside: the city's noise rule, a parking sketch or photo, trash days, sea turtle rules if they apply, the nearest hospital and the city's non-emergency police number. An evacuation map goes by each bedroom door.

TAX

13% total: Broward County's 6% tourist development tax, filed with the county, plus 6% Florida sales tax and 1% county surtax filed with the state.

Print the door notice

This prints the house-information sheet from sec. 15-278(5). The city prints the certificate itself; hang it on or beside the inside of the main door. Add your parking sketch or photo next to this sheet, and an evacuation map beside each bedroom door.

Type what you know. Anything left empty prints as a line to write on, so it works as a blank form too. What you type stays on this phone.

FORT LAUDERDALE VACATION RENTAL

House information

Posted as required by Fort Lauderdale City Code sec. 15-278(5).

    Fort Lauderdale City Code secs. 15-278(3), (5). Sheet made free at headedin.com/stay/rules/fort-lauderdale/

    Prints one letter page. Post it in plain sight inside, with the parking sketch or photo beside it.

    What the rules say

    Who needs to register

    A condo or co-op unit, or a house with one to four units, "rented to transient occupants more than three (3) times in a calendar year for periods of less than thirty (30) days", or advertised as one (secs. 15-271, 15-272). An ad alone counts as evidence you're operating.

    • First: a Florida DBPR license, Florida Department of Revenue registration, Broward and city business tax receipts, an affidavit and a sample lease (sec. 15-277).
    • Fees (city page): $880 for up to 4 units on one folio, first inspection included; $100 reinspection or no-show; $50 to change the agent.
    • Renewal (city page): by Aug 1; certificates expire Sept 30. $650 a year, $200 for a homestead, $100 late. After Sept 30 it's a new $880 application. Inspections are yearly.
    • New this fall: the city says Ordinance C-26-39, approved Sept 15 2026, sets $1,000 a day for renting without a valid certificate.
    • Apply through the city's LauderBuild portal; questions to vacationrental@fortlauderdale.gov.
    What has to be posted, and where
    "shall post the following conspicuously within the establishment"Sec. 15-278(5)
    1. The noise rule: nothing plainly audible for a minute or more at 25 feet from the property line, 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., or at 50 feet, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
    2. A sketch or photo of the off-street parking.
    3. Trash pickup days and times.
    4. Sea turtle nesting season and lighting rules, if they apply.
    5. Where the nearest hospital is.
    6. The city's non-emergency police number.
    7. An evacuation map, at least 8½ by 11, next to the inside of each bedroom door.

    The certificate of compliance, with the responsible party's contact and the most guests, goes on the back of or next to the inside of the main entrance door (sec. 15-278(9)). Guests also get a written summary of these rules before they arrive (sec. 15-275).

    Guests, parking and the responsible party
    • Guests: "two (2) persons per sleeping room" overnight; gatherings up to 1½ times that, never more than 20. Up to four children under 13 don't count (sec. 15-278(2)).
    • Parking: every vehicle in the driveway on the property (sec. 15-278(1)e).
    • Trash: to the curb no earlier than 6 p.m. the day before, back by midnight on pickup day (sec. 15-278(3)).
    • Responsible party: a real person, reachable 24/7, able to respond in person within one hour, who keeps a guest register and checks the house after each stay (sec. 15-275).
    • Ads show the certificate number and match the certificate's guest limit (sec. 15-278(7)).
    • Safety: hard-wired, interconnected smoke and CO alarms; a 2A:10B:C extinguisher on each floor; a landline that can call 911 (sec. 15-278(1)).
    Taxes
    "The Broward County Tourist Development Tax Rate is 6 percent."Broward County Tourist Development Tax
    • Rentals of six months or less. Register with the county and file a return even when nothing was collected; late returns cost at least $50.
    • Florida sales tax 6% plus Broward's 1% surtax go to the Department of Revenue. The state's rate table puts Broward lodging at 13% in all.
    • The city accepts a statement from you instead of separate tax registrations when your platform pays the taxes.

    House rules go in your listing

    For bookings made from Nov 20 2026, Airbnb wants every house rule in the listing itself; signs in the house can only repeat them. This notice only carries what Fort Lauderdale requires, so it adds no new rules. Put quiet hours, parking and the rest in your listing first.

    Official sources, read Nov 11 2026

    Plain-words summary, not legal advice. Rules and fees change, and the official page always wins. Checked Nov 11 2026.

    Help us get it right

    Host in Fort Lauderdale? If a rule, fee or form here has changed, or we missed something, tell us. We check every note against the official source before we change a page, and we put the new checked date on it.

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