Fort Lauderdale

Operating rules

Primary residence

No

Min stay (nights)

—

Max nights / year

—

Max occupancy

Overnight: 2 persons per sleeping room (rooms confirmed by on-site inspection). Total gathering: no more than 1.5x the overnight maximum and never more than 20 persons (gathering cap does not apply to owner-occupied rentals when the owner is present). Up to 4 persons under age 13 are exempt from both limits.

Zoning-restricted

No

Cap on licenses

—

Grandfathering: Properties holding a valid DBPR vacation rental license before August 18, 2015 with a rental scheduled before that date (and other conditions in Sec. 15-272(b)) could operate while a registration application was pending. Florida preemption (Fla. Stat. 509.032(7)(b)) grandfathers local vacation-rental ordinances adopted on or before June 1, 2011; Fort Lauderdale's Article X was adopted August 18, 2015 (Ord. C-15-29) and therefore cannot prohibit vacation rentals or regulate rental duration/frequency.

Zoning: Vacation rentals are treated as a permitted use in residential property subject to the Article X standards; the ordinance does not confine them to specific zones. Standards reference the Unified Land Development Regulations for setbacks, parking, and similar provisions.

• No minimum-stay or maximum-nights limit is imposed. Under Fla. Stat. 509.032(7)(b), the city (post-2011 ordinance) may not regulate duration or frequency of rentals; Article X regulates registration, safety, and conduct only. Statute verbatim: "A local law, ordinance, or regulation may not prohibit vacation rentals or regulate the duration or frequency of rental of vacation rentals. This paragraph does not apply to any local law, ordinance, or regulation adopted on or before June 1, 2011."
• Vacation rental defined as rental to transient occupants more than 3 times per calendar year for periods under 30 days (or 1 calendar month); timeshares excluded.
• Occupancy: 2 persons per sleeping room overnight; gathering cap 1.5x overnight max and never more than 20 persons; up to 4 persons under 13 exempt from both limits (Sec. 15-278). Verbatim: "Up to four (4) persons under thirteen (13) years of age are exempt from and shall not count towards the occupancy limits."
• Responsible party must be reachable 24/7 and able to respond in person within 1 hour.
• Each vacation rental must be equipped with a noise-level detection device (added by the Sept. 19, 2023 amendment); device data retained 180 days and provided to the city on request.
• Vehicles must be parked within a driveway on the subject property; noise limits (Chapter 17) apply.
• Sexual offender/predator residency restriction (1,400 ft of schools/parks) applies per Sec. 15-278(8).

Enforcement

Active enforcement

Active. City Community Enhancement and Compliance Division inspects and cites; certificate of compliance can be suspended or revoked, and law enforcement/code inspectors may cite without a prior written warning.

Fines

Civil infraction: $250.00 per uncontested violation, $325.00 per contested violation (raised from $200/$275 by the Sept. 19, 2023 amendment). Each day is a separate violation (except occupancy violations, which count once per rental period). Operating during a suspension carries up to $5,000/day for repeat violations and up to $15,000/day if the special magistrate finds the violation irreparable/irreversible. Certificate suspension escalates: 180 days on 3rd violation, 365 days on 4th, +30 days each additional violation up to 12 months; no transient occupancy allowed during suspension.

Notes

Penalty amounts updated: the City Commission approved an amendment on Sept. 19, 2023 raising the civil penalty to $250 uncontested / $325 contested and adding a noise-level detection device requirement (data retained 180 days) and enhanced penalties for operating during suspension. Occupancy violations under 15-278(2) are a single violation per rental period rather than per day. Temporary suspension begins 5 working days after a Florida Building Code or Fire Prevention Code citation until re-inspection clears it. Exact ordinance penalty text could not be read firsthand (fortlauderdale.elaws.us and fortlauderdale.gov are Akamai-blocked, returning 503/403); amounts are anchored to WebSearch snippets of the official ordinance and city program pages — confirm current figures against the live ordinance.