St. Petersburg, FL short-term rental rules
In St. Petersburg's residential districts a home may be rented for less than a month no more than three times in any 365-day period; a fourth short stay makes it a transient accommodation use, which is prohibited outside the districts that allow hotels.
Does this apply to you?
Not reviewed · The city issues no short-term rental permit; there is nothing to apply for, and nothing that can be capped.
- restricted
Renting your primary residence
You live there and rent a room, or the whole home while you are away.
You may rent your home, or part of it, for a term shorter than a month up to three times in any consecutive 365-day period without triggering the transient accommodation use; stays of a month or longer are unlimited. A fourth short stay converts the property into a 'transient accommodation use,' which the use matrix does not list for the NT and NS neighborhood districts, and Sec. 16.60.040 presumes any unlisted use is prohibited. The code carves out guest-house rooms inside an owner-occupied primary residence and non-paying family or guests, and a licensed bed and breakfast is a separate use (special exception in NT-1, NT-2, NT-3, NT-4, NPUD; permitted in CRT and most corridor and center districts).
Verified 2026-09-05 · City of St. Petersburg Code, Sec. 16.90.020 Rules of interpretation and definitions (Municode) · City of St. Petersburg Code, Sec. 16.90.020 Rules of interpretation and definitions (Municode) · City of St. Petersburg Code, Sec. 16.60.040 Permitted uses and uses not listed (Municode)
What the source says
Transient accommodation uses means a building containing one or more transient accommodation units, one or more of which is occupied by one or more persons, or offered or advertised as being available for such occupancy, when the right of occupancy is for a term less than monthly, such right of occupancy being available more than three times in any consecutive 365-day period.
— City of St. Petersburg Code, Sec. 16.90.020 Rules of interpretation and definitions (Municode)The term "transient accommodation uses" does not include a guest house dwelling, when one or both of the sleeping rooms are located as a permitted accessory use within and incidental to the primary residential structure and the primary residential structure is owned by a natural person and occupied by the owner.
— City of St. Petersburg Code, Sec. 16.90.020 Rules of interpretation and definitions (Municode)Any use not listed as a permitted, special exception or accessory use in the use matrix is presumed to be prohibited within the zoning district.
— City of St. Petersburg Code, Sec. 16.60.040 Permitted uses and uses not listed (Municode)
- restricted
Whole-home investment property
You do not live there; the unit is rented short-term full time.
A non-owner-occupied house or condo can be rented for a month or longer without limit, and for shorter terms no more than three times in any 365-day period. Beyond that it is a transient accommodation use, which the code says includes 'resort dwellings' and 'vacation resorts' and which is not a listed use in the neighborhood residential districts (NT, NTM, NS, NSM, NMH, NPUD). Hotels are allowed (permitted or grandfathered) only in the CRT, CCT, CCS, DC, RC, EC and IC corridor and center districts, so a nightly investor operation is realistic only there, subject to the district's development standards. Whichever pattern you run, you need a Florida DBPR vacation-rental license and a state sales-tax account; the 6% Pinellas tourist development tax is platform-collected on Airbnb and Vrbo bookings.
Verified 2026-09-05 · City of St. Petersburg Code, Sec. 16.90.020 Rules of interpretation and definitions (Municode) · City of St. Petersburg Code, Sec. 16.10.020.1 Matrix: Use permissions and parking requirements (Municode) · Pinellas County Tax Collector — Tourist Development Taxes
What the source says
The term "transient accommodation uses" includes but is not limited to hotels, motels, recreational vehicle parks, tourist lodging facilities, resort condominiums, resort dwellings, vacation resorts, and dwelling units occupied or available for occupancy on an interval ownership or "time share" basis, when any of the above are made available for occupancy more than three times in any consecutive 365-day period and the right of occupancy is for a term less than monthly.
— City of St. Petersburg Code, Sec. 16.90.020 Rules of interpretation and definitions (Municode)Motels, hotels, and other transient accommodation uses are not multiple-family dwellings.
— City of St. Petersburg Code, Sec. 16.10.020.1 Matrix: Use permissions and parking requirements (Municode)If you use one of the following rental platforms, they should be collecting the TD tax for you for bookings made on or after the effective date indicated below:
— Pinellas County Tax Collector — Tourist Development Taxes
- 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 St. Petersburg.
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
This record governs addresses inside the City of St. Petersburg city limits, the mainland city on the Pinellas peninsula (downtown, Old Northeast, Kenwood, Shore Acres, Snell Isle, Coquina Key and the like). It does NOT govern the separate beach cities that share the 'St. Pete' name — St. Pete Beach, Treasure Island, Madeira Beach — nor Gulfport, Pinellas Park, Kenneth City, South Pasadena, Tierra Verde (unincorporated) or any other unincorporated Pinellas County parcel, each of which has its own rules. Confirm by searching the parcel on the Pinellas County Property Appraiser site and reading the municipality field.
The rules
St. Petersburg does not license short-term rentals; it limits them through the land development code's definition of 'transient accommodation uses' in Sec. 16.90.020. A dwelling becomes a transient accommodation use when it is occupied, or advertised as available, for terms of less than a month more than three times in any consecutive 365-day period, regardless of who owns it or whether the occupant pays rent. The use matrix in Sec. 16.10.020.1 lists hotels and motels (the transient uses) only in corridor and center districts, and Sec. 16.60.040 presumes any use not listed for a district is prohibited. The practical rule for every house, duplex and condo in the NT, NTM, NS, NSM, NMH and NPUD neighborhood districts is therefore: unlimited stays of a month or longer, and at most three stays shorter than a month per rolling year. Bed and breakfasts are a separate, owner-managed use allowed by special exception in several neighborhood districts.
There is no city short-term rental registration, inspection or permit, and no fee to quote. The required paperwork is a Florida DBPR vacation-rental license (Chapter 509), a Florida Department of Revenue sales-tax account, and a Pinellas County tourist development tax account with the Pinellas County Tax Collector unless every booking runs through a registered platform. Accessory dwelling units are expressly barred from transient use by Sec. 16.50.010.4, and the city's ADU page answers 'Are short-term rentals allowed?' with a flat no for residential districts.
Lodging tax totals 13%: 6% state sales tax, the 1% Pinellas discretionary sales surtax (Florida DOR form DR-15DSS, calendar year 2026) and the 6% Pinellas County tourist development tax on any rental of six months or less. The tax collector's page lists Airbnb (bookings from December 1, 2015), HomeAway, VRBO, HouseTrip, VacationHomeRentals and VacationRentals (October 1, 2018) and Misterb&b (June 1, 2018) as registered platforms that collect and remit the TD tax; the page warns that if the platform fails to collect, the owner is still liable, and that direct bookings must be reported and paid by the owner.
Enforcement runs through Codes Compliance on complaint, and the St. Petersburg Police Department's transient-guest instructional order uses the same three-times-a-year threshold. On preemption, the three-stays rule is a duration-and-frequency regulation of exactly the kind Fla. Stat. § 509.032(7)(b) bars unless the ordinance was adopted on or before June 1, 2011. The definition section carries a Code 1992 origin with amendments listed from 2008 onward, which supports the city's position that the rule is grandfathered, but we did not pin down the adoption date of the three-times language itself or locate a court ruling either way.
Not yet reviewed: tenant-operated rentals, the exact treatment of condominium buildings in the DC downtown districts, and whether any City of St. Petersburg business tax receipt is charged on a residential rental.
At a glance
| Governing body | City of St. Petersburg (municipality) |
|---|---|
| Permit / license | No city STR permit — DBPR license + Pinellas TDT account (Airbnb/Vrbo platform-collected) |
| Primary residence | No residence rule — the three-times-a-year rule applies to everyone |
| Whole-home investor | Monthly-plus yes; nightly only in districts where hotel or motel uses are allowed |
| Night cap / minimum stay | Stays under one month allowed at most three times in any 365 days in residential zones |
| Lodging tax | 13% (6% state + 1% Pinellas surtax + 6% Pinellas TDT) |
State context: Florida short-term rental laws — preemption, the DBPR license, and what cities may still regulate.
Primary sources
- City of St. Petersburg Code, Sec. 16.90.020 Rules of interpretation and definitions (Municode)
- City of St. Petersburg Code, Sec. 16.10.020.1 Matrix: Use permissions and parking requirements (Municode)
- City of St. Petersburg Code, Sec. 16.60.040 Permitted uses and uses not listed (Municode)
- City of St. Petersburg Code, Sec. 16.50.010 Accessory dwelling (Municode)
- City of St. Petersburg — Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) FAQ
- St. Petersburg Police Department Instructional Order V5-15 Transient Guests (PDF)
- Pinellas County Tax Collector — Tourist Development Taxes
- Pinellas County — Pay Tourist Development Tax
- Florida DOR — 2026 Discretionary Sales Surtax (DR-15DSS) (PDF)
- Fla. Stat. § 509.032 (vacation-rental preemption)