Florida · Hillsborough County

Hillsborough County

county Restricted Needs review · last verified 2026-07-02

Short-term rentals are legal in unincorporated Hillsborough County but restricted by zoning: secondary sources report that the Land Development Code limits rentals of fewer than 7 consecutive nights to commercial, lodging, and certain mixed-use zoning districts, so nightly rentals in standard residential zones are not permitted (rentals of 7+ nights are allowed in residential zones). The verbatim LDC text and its pre-June-1-2011 adoption date could not be confirmed firsthand (Municode is ToS-blocked from scraping), so the zoning/min-stay layer is flagged for review. Operators need a state DBPR vacation-rental license, a county Business Tax Receipt, and a county Tourist Development Tax account. County TDT is 6% (self-administered by the Tax Collector). The county Tax Collector page names Airbnb, HomeAway, Misterb&b, VRBO, and Vacation Rentals as platforms that collect and remit the county TDT for bookings paid through their sites. The county has no separate registration-only STR permit program beyond zoning + BTR + tax accounts.

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

Requirements checklist

state Florida DBPR Vacation Rental License Required

Fee: $170 / annual · Renewal: annual · Applies to: Any person renting an entire dwelling/condominium unit to transient guests (stays of less than 30 days or 1 calendar month) more than three times in a calendar year, or advertising it as such. · official page ↗
county Hillsborough County Tourist Development Tax Account Required

Fee: — · Renewal: — · Applies to: Owners/managers/operators who rent living quarters for periods of 6 months or less. An application is not required if renting exclusively through the listed platforms (Airbnb, HomeAway, Misterb&b, VRBO, Vacation Rentals) that collect and remit the tax; hosts using third-party reservation systems where payment bypasses the platform must register and remit. · official page ↗
county Hillsborough County Business Tax Receipt (BTR) Required

Fee: $45 / annual · Renewal: annual · Applies to: Short-term rental operators in unincorporated Hillsborough County; state vacation-rental license generally required to apply. (Properties inside a municipality may also need a city BTR.) · official page ↗
county Land Development Code zoning compliance (transient/short-term residential use) Required

Fee: — · Renewal: — · Applies to: Unincorporated Hillsborough County. Per secondary sources, rentals of fewer than 7 consecutive nights are limited to commercial, lodging, and certain mixed-use zoning districts; standard residential zones permit only rentals of 7+ consecutive nights. · official page ↗

Taxes

Tax	Rate	Administered by	Airbnb remits	Vrbo remits
Florida State Transient Rental Sales Tax	6%	Florida Department of Revenue	Yes	—
Hillsborough County Discretionary Sales Surtax	1.5%	Florida Department of Revenue	Yes	—
Hillsborough County Tourist Development Tax (TDT)	6%	Hillsborough County Tax Collector (self-administered / locally administered)	Yes	Yes

Operating rules

Primary residence: No
Min stay (nights): 7
Max nights / year: —
Max occupancy: —
Zoning-restricted: Yes
Cap on licenses: —

Grandfathering: Fla. Stat. 509.032(7)(b) preempts local regulation of the duration or frequency of vacation rentals but exempts ordinances adopted on or before June 1, 2011. Whether Hillsborough County's LDC minimum-stay/zoning provision qualifies as grandfathered (i.e., predates June 1, 2011) was NOT confirmed firsthand and should be verified.

Zoning: Per secondary sources, the unincorporated Hillsborough County Land Development Code limits rentals of fewer than 7 consecutive nights to commercial, lodging, and certain mixed-use zoning districts; standard residential zoning districts allow only rentals of 7 or more consecutive nights, making the effective minimum stay in residential zones 7 nights. This was NOT confirmed via a verbatim official LDC quote (Municode ToS-blocked) and is flagged for review.

The 7-night restriction applies to unincorporated Hillsborough County under the county Land Development Code (per secondary sources, not firsthand-confirmed); incorporated cities (e.g., Tampa, Temple Terrace, Plant City) may have their own separate rules.
State preemption (Fla. Stat. 509.032(7)(b)) generally bars local governments from regulating rental duration/frequency unless the ordinance was adopted on or before June 1, 2011.
Occupancy and maximum-night caps: none identified at the county layer.

Enforcement

Active enforcement: complaint_based
Fines: —
Notes: Zoning-based restriction (7-consecutive-night minimum outside commercial/lodging/mixed-use zones) is enforced through the Land Development Code, generally on a complaint-driven basis. Specific fine amounts and TDT late-payment penalty/interest figures were not confirmed verbatim from an official source and should be verified against the county TDT ordinance and Code Enforcement schedules.

Official sources

state_license_program Florida DBPR Vacation Rental / Transient Public Lodging Licensing Guide ↗ checked 2026-07-02
state_statute Fla. Stat. 509.032 - Duties of the Division; local preemption (509.032(7)(b)) ↗ checked 2026-07-02
state_tax_brochure Florida DOR GT-800034 - Sales and Use Tax on Rental of Living or Sleeping Accommodations (R. 10/25) ↗ checked 2026-07-02
state_tax_form Florida DOR DR-15DSS - Discretionary Sales Surtax Information for Calendar Year 2026 (R. 11/25) ↗ checked 2026-07-02 · changed 2026-01-01
state_tax_page Florida DOR - Local Option Transient Rental / Discretionary Surtax Information ↗ checked 2026-07-02
county_tax_page Hillsborough County Tax Collector - Tourist Development Tax General Information ↗ checked 2026-07-02
county_tax_page Hillsborough County Tax Collector - Tourist Development Tax (registration / platform remittance) ↗ checked 2026-07-02
county_tax_page Hillsborough County Tax Collector - Business Tax Services (Business Tax Receipt) ↗ checked 2026-07-02
county_zoning_page Hillsborough County - Land Development Code (zoning / transient residential use) ↗ checked 2026-07-02

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