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Florida · St. Augustine

St. Augustine

city Allowed with registration Verified · last verified 2026-07-02

Short-term rentals are legal in St. Augustine but every listing must have an approved annual City registration plus a Life Safety Inspection (Ordinance 2019-50). Allowed rental duration depends on zoning: nightly rentals are prohibited in RS-1/RS-2 (one-week minimum) and HP-1 (one-month minimum); nightly rentals are permitted in all other zones. Statewide DBPR vacation-rental licensing and St. Johns County/state taxes also apply.

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

Requirements checklist

  • state DBPR Vacation Rental License Required
    Fee: $170 · Renewal: Annual (staggered by DBPR district) · Applies to: Any person renting an entire dwelling/condo unit to transient guests for periods of less than 30 days (or 1 calendar month) more than three times in a calendar year, or advertising it as regularly available for such rental. · official page ↗
  • city City of St. Augustine Short-Term Rental Registration Required
    Fee: — · Renewal: Annual; renewals due by October 1 each year or a $100 late renewal fee is assessed. · Applies to: Each individual short-term rental listing on a property must be registered annually with the City; separate listings require separate registrations. Registration period follows the City fiscal year, October 1 - September 30. · official page ↗
  • city Life Safety Inspection (St. Augustine Fire Department) Required
    Fee: — · Renewal: Annual (concurrent with registration) · Applies to: Every registered short-term vacation rental; performed at time of registration and annually thereafter. Covers visible address numbers, smoke alarms, CO detectors, portable fire extinguishers, egress windows/exit doors, emergency lighting, and posted evacuation info. · official page ↗
  • county St. Johns County Tourist Development Tax Account + Business Tax Receipt Required
    Fee: — · Renewal: — · Applies to: All owners and/or agents of rental property renting for six months or less must register with the St. Johns County Tax Collector (TDT application), obtain a St. Johns County Business Tax Receipt, and hold a Florida DOR sales tax ID before collecting and remitting the 5% TDT. · official page ↗

Taxes

TaxRateAdministered byAirbnb remitsVrbo remits
Florida State Sales Tax on Transient Rentals 6% Florida Department of Revenue Yes No
St. Johns County Discretionary Sales Surtax 0.5% Florida Department of Revenue Yes No
St. Johns County Tourist Development Tax (TDT) 5% St. Johns County Tax Collector (self-administered) No No

Operating rules

Primary residence
No
Min stay (nights)
7
Max nights / year
—
Max occupancy
Total maximum twelve (12) occupants, computed at two (2) persons per bedroom plus an additional two (2) children under age 18. Studio/Efficiency units limited to 2 occupants.
Zoning-restricted
Yes
Cap on licenses
—

Grandfathering: City Ordinance 2019-50 was adopted in 2019, after the June 1, 2011 grandfathering cutoff in Fla. Stat. 509.032(7)(b). Under that preemption a local ordinance adopted after that date may not prohibit vacation rentals or regulate rental duration/frequency; St. Augustine's zone-based duration limits (nightly-rental bans in RS-1/RS-2 and HP-1) have been controversial on preemption grounds, but the City's published registration program is the operative local rule.

Zoning: Allowed rental duration depends on zoning district. RS-1 & RS-2: rentals of one week or longer only (nightly rentals not allowed). HP-1: monthly or greater periods only. All other zoning districts: nightly rentals allowed with approved registration. Each unit must provide at least one on-site parking space per bedroom (concrete/asphalt/pavers/gravel; grass, mulch, sand not permitted).

  • min_stay_nights of 7 reflects the RS-1/RS-2 one-week minimum; nightly rentals (no minimum) are permitted in most non-residential/mixed zones, and HP-1 requires a monthly (~30-night) minimum.
  • Maximum occupancy cap is 12 regardless of bedroom count.
  • At least one on-site parking space per bedroom is required.

Enforcement

Active enforcement
yes
Fines
City administrative fees: $100 late renewal fee (registration not renewed by October 1); $50 re-inspection fee for failed Life Safety Inspections. Application fees are non-refundable if an application is denied or the property fails final inspection. Broader code-enforcement penalties for operating without registration are handled through the City's code enforcement process; specific per-day fine amounts were not confirmed on an official source read firsthand.
Notes
Ordinance 2019-50 established an active registration + annual fire inspection regime; the City enforces registration and inspection compliance. Specific escalating code-enforcement fine amounts for unregistered operation were not verbatim-confirmed from an official City source and should be verified in the ordinance / Ch. 28 code before assertion.

Official sources

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