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Florida · Fort Myers Beach

Fort Myers Beach

city Allowed with registration Verified · last verified 2026-07-03

Short-term/vacation rentals are legal in Fort Myers Beach but every rental unit must be registered with the Town (Ordinance 18-01 / LDC Sec. 34-2393 Code of Conduct; the Town's current program page also cites Ordinance 34-2394), carry a State of Florida DBPR vacation-rental ("resort dwelling") license under F.S. 509.241, pass an annual Fort Myers Beach Fire Control District inspection, and display the Town registration number in all advertising. Rentals of one week to one month are permitted by right per Table 34-2, and shorter "weekly" rentals are grandfathered only where the property is on the Town's registry of pre-existing weekly rentals (consistent with Fla. Stat. 509.032(7)(b) preemption on regulating rental duration/frequency).

Not legal advice. Last verified 2026-07-03 · sources linked below.

Requirements checklist

  • state Florida DBPR Vacation Rental Dwelling License Required
    Fee: $170 · Renewal: Annual (DBPR district-staggered) · Applies to: Any entire dwelling/dwelling unit rented to guests more than three times in a calendar year for periods of less than 30 days (or 1 calendar month, whichever is less), or advertised or held out to the public as regularly rented to guests. · official page ↗
  • city Town of Fort Myers Beach Short-Term Rental Registration Required
    Fee: $300 · Renewal: Annual; renewals due October 1 to December 15 each year; renewal fee $300.00. Registration not renewed is automatically voided. · Applies to: Each short-term rental unit on a property (each unit must be registered separately). Applies to units on the registry of pre-existing weekly rentals and to rentals of one week to one month permitted by right under Table 34-2. · official page ↗
  • city Fort Myers Beach Fire Control District Annual Fire Inspection Required
    Fee: — · Renewal: Annual · Applies to: Each registered short-term rental unit. · official page ↗
  • city Advertising registration-number display requirement Required
    Fee: — · Renewal: — · Applies to: All forms of rental-unit advertising (yard signs, internet advertisements). · official page ↗
  • city 24-hour local contact person Required
    Fee: — · Renewal: — · Applies to: Each short-term rental unit; a local phone number answered 24 hours a day to respond to complaints. · official page ↗

Taxes

TaxRateAdministered byAirbnb remitsVrbo remits
Florida State Transient Rental Sales Tax 6% Florida Department of Revenue Yes No
Lee County Discretionary Sales Surtax 0.5% Florida Department of Revenue Yes No
Lee County Tourist Development Tax (TDT) 5% Lee County Clerk of Court (self-administered) Yes No

Operating rules

Primary residence
No
Min stay (nights)
—
Max nights / year
—
Max occupancy
Occupancy of each unit must be consistent with the code's definition of "family" (Sec. 34-2): a group of five or more adults not related by blood, marriage, or adoption shall not be deemed to constitute a family.
Zoning-restricted
Yes
Cap on licenses
—

Grandfathering: The Town maintains a "registry of pre-existing weekly rentals." Because Fla. Stat. 509.032(7)(b) preempts local regulation of rental duration/frequency except for ordinances adopted on or before June 1, 2011, the Town's shorter-than-weekly rental rights are tied to this grandfathered registry rather than a general prohibition.

Zoning: Short-term rentals are governed by LDC Chapter 34, Article IV, Division 32-A. Rentals of one week to one month are permitted by right where allowed under Table 34-2; rentals shorter than one week are limited to properties on the Town's registry of pre-existing (grandfathered) weekly rentals.

  • Quiet hours 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. under the STR Code of Conduct (Sec. 34-2393) and Town Ordinance No. 96-24 noise limits.
  • Guests must comply with mandatory hurricane/tropical-storm evacuations.
  • Code of Conduct must be provided to guests, signed by guests, and posted at the primary entrance/exit of each unit.
  • Minimum-stay in nights not independently quotable; the code frames duration as a registry-based weekly tier plus a one-week-to-one-month by-right tier per Table 34-2 rather than a single stated night minimum.

Enforcement

Active enforcement
yes
Fines
No specific dollar fine amount is quoted on the reviewed official Town pages/forms. Enforcement runs through the Town's short-term rental program and 24-hour violations hotline, plus code-enforcement/void of registration for non-compliance; specific per-violation penalty amounts would be set by the Town's code-enforcement process and were not verbatim-confirmed.
Notes
A dedicated 24-hour violations hotline (239-944-3956) plus a Code of Conduct (quiet hours, refuse, occupancy) indicates active, complaint-driven enforcement. Voided registrations bar any rental activity or advertising until re-registered.

Official sources

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