Florida · Clearwater

Clearwater

city Mostly prohibited Needs review · last verified 2026-07-02

Short-term/transient rentals (under 31 days or one calendar month) are prohibited in all residentially zoned districts of Clearwater and are permitted only in Tourist Districts and Commercial Tourist zoning overlays. The 31-day residential minimum predates June 1, 2011, so it is grandfathered and enforceable despite Florida's preemption on regulating rental duration. A small number of pre-existing residential units on Clearwater Beach hold grandfathered transient-use rights. Operators in permitted zones still need a Florida DBPR vacation rental license, must collect the 6% state sales tax + 1% Pinellas surtax + 6% Pinellas Tourist Development Tax, and must hold a City Business Tax Receipt.

Not legal advice. Last verified 2026-07-02 · sources linked below.

Requirements checklist

state Florida DBPR Vacation Rental License (Dwelling or Condominium) Required

Fee: $170 / year · Renewal: annual · Applies to: Any entire dwelling/condo unit rented to transient guests more than 3 times per calendar year for periods of less than 30 days / 1 calendar month, or advertised/held out as regularly rented to guests. In Clearwater this only applies to units in Tourist Districts (or grandfathered residential units), since residential short-term rental is otherwise prohibited. · official page ↗
city City of Clearwater Business Tax Receipt (residential rental) Required

Fee: — · Renewal: annual · Applies to: Property owners renting residential property in Clearwater must obtain a City Business Tax Receipt; the application requires a designated local representative with a local phone number and current local address. Note: short-term (under 31-day) rental in residential zones is prohibited regardless, so a BTR does not authorize STR use in residential districts. · official page ↗

Taxes

Tax	Rate	Administered by	Airbnb remits	Vrbo remits
Florida Transient Rental Sales Tax	6%	Florida Department of Revenue	Yes	No
Pinellas County Discretionary Sales Surtax	1%	Florida Department of Revenue	Yes	No
Pinellas County Tourist Development Tax (bed tax)	6%	Pinellas County Tax Collector (self-administered county)	Yes	No

Operating rules

Primary residence: —
Min stay (nights): 31
Max nights / year: —
Max occupancy: —
Zoning-restricted: Yes
Cap on licenses: —

Grandfathering: Clearwater's 31-day minimum residential rental rule predates June 1, 2011, so it is grandfathered and enforceable under Fla. Stat. 509.032(7)(b) (which otherwise preempts local regulation of rental duration/frequency). A limited number of single-family homes and duplexes (notably on north Clearwater Beach) held transient-rental use rights before the ordinance tightened; these grandfathered use rights can transfer to a buyer only if operation remains continuous. Grandfathered-unit status is not confirmable per-property from public sources.

Zoning: Two-tier system: transient/short-term rental allowed only in Tourist Districts and Commercial Tourist overlays; prohibited in all residential zoning districts.

Short-term / transient rental (under 31 days or one calendar month) is prohibited in residentially zoned districts; advertising a residential property for daily or weekly rental is itself prohibited.
Transient lodging / short-term rental is permitted only in Tourist (T) Districts and Commercial Tourist zoning overlays.
Interval ownership, fractional ownership, and timeshare units are prohibited as a residential use (confirmed via Pinellas Realtor Organization quote of the Clearwater CDC).
Quiet-hours policy commonly cited as 11:00 pm to 7:00 am (not confirmable firsthand; City .gov and Municode pages are Akamai-blocked).
City ordinance sections cited by secondary sources: CDC 1-104.B, 3-919, and 3-1206 — the 1-104.B and 3-919 citations appear on the Pinellas Realtor Organization page; exact section text could not be read firsthand due to the Akamai bot wall on myclearwater.com and Municode.

Enforcement

Active enforcement: Clearwater actively enforces its residential short-term rental prohibition via the Code Compliance Division; violations of the Community Development Code are handled through the code enforcement / special magistrate process. Advertising a residentially-zoned property for rentals of less than 31 days is itself a violation.
Fines: Municipal code enforcement fines are set by the special magistrate under the general code enforcement process (Fla. Stat. Ch. 162; typically up to $250/day for a first violation and $500/day for repeat violations, plus liens). No STR-specific per-night fine schedule was confirmable firsthand because the City of Clearwater code pages are behind an Akamai bot wall (HTTP 403). Treat fine amounts as unverified.
Notes: Core enforcement stance (residential STR prohibition + advertising ban) confirmed via the Pinellas Realtor Organization page quoting the Clearwater ordinance; the myclearwater.com .gov code-compliance pages and Municode both returned HTTP 403 (Akamai) and could not be read firsthand.

Official sources

program_page City of Clearwater (Code Compliance / Community Development Code) ↗ checked 2026-07-02
reference Pinellas Realtor Organization — Local Short Term Rental Restrictions and/or City Contacts (quotes Clearwater ordinance) ↗ checked 2026-07-02
tax_page Pinellas County Tax Collector — Tourist Development Taxes ↗ checked 2026-07-02
tax_page Pinellas County — Pay Tourist Development Tax ↗ checked 2026-07-02
license_page Florida DBPR — Vacation Rental & Timeshare Licensing Guide ↗ checked 2026-07-02
tax_form Florida DOR Form DR-15DSS — Discretionary Sales Surtax Information (CY 2026) ↗ checked 2026-07-02 · changed 2025-11-01
statute Fla. Stat. 509.032 — Duties (vacation rental preemption 509.032(7)(b)) ↗ checked 2026-07-02
tax_page Florida DOR — Local Option Taxes ↗ checked 2026-07-02

Informational summary of publicly available sources; not legal advice. Verify against the linked official sources.