Miami, FL short-term rental rules
Short-term rentals are prohibited in single-family homes and duplexes in the T3 and T4-R transect zones that cover most of Miami's residential neighborhoods; they are allowed only as lodging use in higher-intensity zones after a building conversion and a Certificate of Use.
Does this apply to you?
Zone-limited · No numeric cap, but Certificates of Use for lodging are issued only for units in transect zones that allow lodging and never for single-family homes or duplexes in T3 or T4-R.
- restricted
Renting your primary residence
You live there and rent a room, or the whole home while you are away.
Generally no. If your home is a single-family house or duplex in a T3 or T4-R transect zone — which is most of the city's residential fabric — it is not eligible for short-term rental or lodging use, whether or not you live there; the city's position was upheld in City of Miami v. Airbnb. A condo or apartment unit you occupy in a zone that permits lodging can be converted only through the city's Short-Term Rental/Lodging process, which requires a building permit, HOA or condo association certification, a Certificate of Use, a DBPR lodging license, and a Business Tax Receipt.
Verified 2026-09-05 · City of Miami — How to Convert to a Short-Term Rental/Lodging
What the source says
Important Reminder: Single-family homes and duplexes located in T3 and T4-R transect zones are not eligible for Short-Term Rental or Lodging use, based on the legal ruling in City of Miami v. Airbnb .
— City of Miami — How to Convert to a Short-Term Rental/Lodging
- restricted
Whole-home investment property
You do not live there; the unit is rented short-term full time.
Only in transect zones that permit lodging, and only as an apartment hotel or condo hotel unit. Single-family and duplex structures in T3 and T4-R zones cannot be converted. Elsewhere the owner must confirm the zone on the city GIS map, file a building permit conversion through iBuild and ProjectDox with an Operational Management Plan certified by the condo or homeowners association and a Short-Term Rental/Lodging Evaluation Form, obtain a new Certificate of Occupancy, a Florida DBPR lodging license, an annually renewed Certificate of Use, a City Business Tax Receipt, and any Miami-Dade DERM approvals. If more than 25% of a building's units become transient, the whole building must meet the Florida Building Code's R-1 occupancy standards.
Verified 2026-09-05 · City of Miami — How to Convert to a Short-Term Rental/Lodging · City of Miami — How to Convert to a Short-Term Rental/Lodging
What the source says
Single-family/duplex structures located in a T3 or T4-R Transect Zones are not eligible for conversion. Contact the City of Miami Building Department at [email protected] for guidance on converting your Single-Family Dwelling.
— City of Miami — How to Convert to a Short-Term Rental/LodgingIf more than 25% of the units in a building are used as transient lodging, the entire building must comply with R-1 standards.
— City of Miami — How to Convert to a Short-Term Rental/Lodging
- Not reviewed yet
Tenant subletting short-term
You rent the home and want to host guests with landlord consent.
We have not yet reviewed whether a tenant can operate a short-term rental in Miami. The conversion process requires association certification and an owner-level building permit, which a tenant would not ordinarily hold.
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 to parcels inside the City of Miami, Florida city limits — Downtown, Brickell, Edgewater, Wynwood, Little Havana, Coconut Grove, Coral Way, Little Haiti, Allapattah, and the Upper East Side. It does not govern Miami Beach (a separate city with its own, stricter code), Coral Gables, Hialeah, North Miami, Miami Shores, Key Biscayne, or unincorporated Miami-Dade County (which has its own Section 33-28 vacation-rental ordinance). Confirm the municipality on the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser parcel record, then check the transect zone on the City of Miami GIS zoning map.
The rules
The City of Miami, Florida treats short-term rentals as transient lodging under its Miami 21 zoning code, not as a residential use. Lodging is a permitted use only in the more intense transect zones (the T4-L, T4-O, T5, T6, and civic and district zones where Miami 21 allows hotels and apartment hotels), and the city's official Short-Term Rental/Lodging page states plainly that single-family homes and duplexes in T3 and T4-R zones are not eligible, citing the court ruling in City of Miami v. Airbnb. That covers Coconut Grove, Coral Way, Shenandoah, Little Havana's residential streets, the Upper East Side, and most other detached-house neighborhoods. Practically, whole-home short-term rentals in Miami are confined to condo and apartment units in Brickell, Downtown, Edgewater, Wynwood, Midtown, and similar high-density areas where the building's association permits them.
There is no simple registration. An eligible unit must be converted to lodging use through a building permit filed in the city's iBuild portal as a commercial remodeling job with an Apartment Hotel or Condo Hotel lodging category, with an Operational Management Plan on the city's template signed by the condo or homeowners association, a Short-Term Rental/Lodging Evaluation Form certified by the association, a data sheet with floor plan showing a registration desk or lobby, and the building's current Certificate of Occupancy and Certificate of Use. After plan review and inspections the owner obtains a new Certificate of Occupancy, a Florida DBPR lodging license, a Certificate of Use from the Zoning Department (renewed annually), a City of Miami Business Tax Receipt, and any Miami-Dade DERM approvals before operating. Fees are assessed through the permit and Certificate of Use fee schedules and vary by unit count; we have not verified a flat figure.
Lodging tax in the City of Miami stacks to 13%: the 6% Florida transient rental tax and 1% Miami-Dade discretionary surtax (remitted to the Florida Department of Revenue), plus Miami-Dade County's 6% Convention and Tourist Taxes made up of the 3% Convention Development Tax, the 2% Tourist Development Room Tax, and the 1% Professional Sports Facilities Franchise Tax on stays of six months or less. Miami-Dade County states it has agreements with Airbnb, HomeAway/Vrbo/Expedia, and misterb&b to collect and remit all short-term rental taxes for their hosts; an owner who also books directly or through another channel must register with the county Tax Collector and remit for those transactions. A Miami-Dade County business tax receipt is required in addition to the city's.
Miami 21 was adopted in 2009 and took effect in May 2010, before the June 1, 2011 grandfather date in Fla. Stat. 509.032(7)(b), which is why the city may continue to exclude transient lodging from residential transect zones where cities with newer ordinances cannot; the exclusion was litigated by Airbnb and upheld. The city sets no minimum stay or night cap. Enforcement runs through Code Compliance, which may audit or inspect converted units without notice, and through the Certificate of Use, which can be denied or not renewed. Buildings where more than 25% of units are transient trigger a change of occupancy to R-1 under the Florida Building Code, and Fire Prevention may require a full life-safety review.
Not yet reviewed: the exact Miami 21 Article 4, Table 3 use matrix by transect zone (the Municode copy of Miami 21 is a 2011 snapshot and the current code is published on a third-party platform we could not read), the city's Certificate of Use and Business Tax Receipt fee amounts for lodging, bed-and-breakfast or home-sharing carve-outs, Special Area Plan overlays, and tenant-operated rentals.
At a glance
| Governing body | City of Miami (municipality) |
|---|---|
| Permit / license | Certificate of Use for lodging (annual) + building permit conversion + DBPR license + city and county BTRs |
| Primary residence | Zone-gated — barred in T3 and T4-R single-family and duplex homes |
| Whole-home investor | Only in transect zones that allow lodging (T4-L, T4-O, T5, T6, and similar), as an apartment or condo hotel unit |
| Night cap / minimum stay | None |
| Lodging tax | 13% (6% state + 1% Miami-Dade surtax + 3% CDT + 2% TDT + 1% sports tax) |
State context: Florida short-term rental laws — preemption, the DBPR license, and what cities may still regulate.