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STR Law Map

Kissimmee, FL short-term rental rules

conditionalVerified · 2026-09-05City of Kissimmee (municipality)

Renting a dwelling for less than 30 days is prohibited in Kissimmee residential districts unless the parcel sits in the Short-Term Rental Overlay (STRO) district and has conditional-use or short-term-rental PUD approval.

Does this apply to you?

Zone-limited · There is no numeric cap or registration queue; eligibility is decided by whether the parcel is inside the STRO overlay and holds conditional-use or STR planned-development approval.

  1. Renting your primary residence

    You live there and rent a room, or the whole home while you are away.

    conditional

    Living in the home does not create an exception. Section 14-6-44 of the Land Development Code prohibits renting any dwelling for less than 30 days in a residential district unless the dwelling is in an STRO district and was approved for short-term rental use through a conditional use permit (Table 4-1 lists short-term rentals as a conditional use in RA-4, RB-1, RB-2, RC-1 and RC-2 only) or through an SRPUD/MUPUD planned-development approval. Outside the STRO district, or in RA-1 through RA-3 single-family zones, an owner-occupied nightly rental is not allowed.

    Verified 2026-09-05 · Kissimmee Code of Ordinances, Land Development Code § 14-6-44 Short-term rentals and time-share dwellings (Municode) · Kissimmee Land Development Code § 14-4-7 Overlay districts — Short-Term Rental Overlay District (STRO) (Municode)

    What the source says

  2. Whole-home investment property

    You do not live there; the unit is rented short-term full time.

    conditional

    Yes, but only on a parcel inside the STRO overlay that either (a) sits in an SRPUD or MUPUD planned development approved by the city for short-term rental use, or (b) obtained conditional-use approval in an RA-4, RB-1, RB-2, RC-1 or RC-2 district. New short-term-rental projects must be at least two acres with 12 or more units, have direct access to a collector or arterial road, and be buffered by a 15-foot vegetated strip or six-foot wall; converting an existing subdivision needs consent from at least 80 percent of owners. The code also requires applicable city, county and state licenses, so a Florida DBPR vacation-rental license and local Business Tax Receipts apply on top of the zoning approval.

    Verified 2026-09-05 · Kissimmee Code of Ordinances, Land Development Code § 14-6-44 Short-term rentals and time-share dwellings (Municode) · Kissimmee Land Development Code § 14-4-5 Schedule of uses for standard zoning districts, Table 4-1 (Municode)

    What the source says

  3. Tenant subletting short-term

    You rent the home and want to host guests with landlord consent.

    Not reviewed yet

    We have not yet reviewed whether a tenant can operate a short-term rental in Kissimmee.

STR Law Map is a reference, not a law firm. Nothing here is legal advice. Rules change — confirm current requirements with the city before operating.

Which government controls the parcel

Applies only to parcels inside the City of Kissimmee city limits. It does NOT cover the US-192 resort communities in unincorporated Osceola County (Windsor Hills, Reunion, Storey Lake, Formosa Gardens and similar), which fall under the county Land Development Code, nor the City of St. Cloud, which has its own code. Most homes with a Kissimmee mailing address are actually in unincorporated Osceola County. Confirm on the Osceola County Property Appraiser parcel record (taxing district / municipality field) or the City of Kissimmee zoning map before relying on this record.

For the whole market — every jurisdiction that gets marketed under the same name — read the Orlando / Kissimmee guide.

The rules

Inside Kissimmee city limits, renting a dwelling for less than 30 days in any residential district is prohibited by Land Development Code § 14-6-44 unless the parcel sits in the Short-Term Rental Overlay (STRO) district and has been approved for that use, either through a conditional use permit or as part of a Short-Term Rental PUD (SRPUD) or Mixed-Use PUD (MUPUD). Table 4-1 lists short-term rentals as a conditional use only in the RA-4, RB-1, RB-2, RC-1 and RC-2 districts; the RA-1 through RA-3 single-family districts, RE and AC do not list the use at all, and unlisted uses are prohibited. Whether the owner lives in the home makes no difference. Most vacation homes with a Kissimmee address are actually in unincorporated Osceola County under a different code.

Kissimmee does not run a separate short-term rental registration program; the gate is zoning. A parcel needs an existing STR entitlement (SRPUD/MUPUD approval or a conditional use permit reviewed under § 14-3-29.F) before any other license matters. New short-term rental developments must be at least two acres with 12 or more dwellings, have direct access to a collector or arterial road, be buffered from non-STR areas by a 15-foot planted buffer or six-foot wall, and carry a property owners association; converting an existing development requires acceptance by at least 80 percent of its owners, and sales contracts must disclose STR use in bold red type. Section 14-6-44.C.8 then requires applicable city, county and state licenses, which in practice means a Florida DBPR vacation-rental license under Chapter 509 plus City of Kissimmee and Osceola County Business Tax Receipts. We did not find a published city STR fee schedule; conditional-use application fees are set by the city and should be confirmed with the Planning Division (407-518-2140).

Lodging tax stacks to 13.5 percent: 6 percent Florida sales tax, the 1.5 percent Osceola County discretionary sales surtax (per the Florida DOR 2026 DR-15DSS table), and the 6 percent Osceola County Tourist Development Tax. The Osceola County Tax Collector states that the county is not contracted with Airbnb, Vrbo, Evolve or other booking platforms and that owners and agents must collect and remit the 6 percent tourist tax to the county themselves; the state sales tax and surtax are filed with the Florida Department of Revenue.

The Kissimmee short-term rental rule traces to the 1995 Code (§§ 14-2-73 and 14-2-74) and Ordinance 2038 adopted December 20, 1994, so the underlying prohibition outside STRO areas predates the June 1, 2011 cutoff in Fla. Stat. § 509.032(7)(b) and is grandfathered against state preemption; the current text was re-enacted in the 2020 Land Development Code rewrite (Ordinance 3034). The code defines a short-term rental simply as a residential dwelling intended for rental for less than 30 days and sets no separate night cap or occupancy limit; enforcement runs through the city Code Enforcement process. Approved STR developments must also keep the STRO housing-type and underlying-district standards.

Not yet reviewed: tenant-operated rentals, the exact conditional-use application fee, and any HOA-level restrictions inside individual STRO subdivisions.

At a glance

Governing bodyCity of Kissimmee (municipality)
Permit / licenseConditional Use approval or SRPUD/MUPUD entitlement (zoning) + DBPR license + BTR
Primary residenceNo residence rule — STRO zoning decides
Whole-home investorYes — STRO district parcels with CUP or STR PUD approval only
Night cap / minimum stayNone stated (under-30-day rental is the regulated use)
Lodging tax13.5% (6% state + 1.5% Osceola surtax + 6% Osceola TDT, self-remitted)

State context: Florida short-term rental laws — preemption, the DBPR license, and what cities may still regulate.

Primary sources

STR Law Map is a reference, not a law firm. Nothing here is legal advice. Rules change — confirm current requirements with the city before operating.

Reviewed September 5, 2026 · Every regulatory field on this page is checked against a primary government source — see the editorial & sourcing policy.

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