Renting to Snowbirds in Florida: Seasonal Rental Rules

A seasonal or snowbird rental in Florida is a furnished home rented to one household for one to six months, usually over the winter. Stays of 30 days or more generally fall outside the state’s vacation rental license, but every stay of six months or less still owes Florida’s 6% sales tax, any county surtax and the county tourist development tax. The lease, the deposit and your condo or HOA documents decide the rest.

Is a seasonal rental a vacation rental under Florida law?

Usually not. A vacation rental is a transient public lodging establishment, which §509.013(4)(a)1 defines as a unit rented “more than three times in a calendar year for periods of less than 30 consecutive days,” or advertised that way. A winter season of one or two long stays does not meet that test.

Section 509.013(4)(b)4 goes further and excludes a condo unit or a house of up to four units rented “for periods of at least 30 days or 1 calendar month, whichever is less,” that is not advertised for shorter stays, provided no more than four rental units in the same complex are available for rent. If you fill the shoulder months with weekend bookings, the home is held out as transient and needs the DBPR license the vacation rental classification carries.

Local rules can draw the line differently. Some cities use a 30-day or one-month line for short stays; Kissimmee, Clearwater and Key West are examples, explained in our mid-term rental guide. Check your own city’s page in our areas list.

What taxes apply to a one-to-six-month stay?

Florida taxes rentals by length, and the line is six months. §212.03(1)(a) levies 6% on the total rent for living quarters and exempts only a person who “exclusively enters into a bona fide written agreement for continuous residence for longer than 6 months.” The Department of Revenue’s brochure GT-800034 confirms the 6% state tax plus any discretionary sales surtax applies to “rental periods of six months or less,” including single-family homes, condo units and vacation houses.

Counties levy the tourist development tax on rentals “for a term of 6 months or less.” Each county’s rate, and whether it is paid to the county or the state, is on form DR-15TDT. County surtax rates are on DR-15DSS.

Three points from GT-800034 matter for seasonal owners:

• A four-month lease is taxable for all four months. The exemption depends on a written agreement for longer than six months from the start.
• A guest who has “continuously resided” in the home for more than six months, and paid tax on the first six, is exempt from the seventh month on.
• Full-time postsecondary students with a written statement from the school, and active-duty military present under official orders with a copy of those orders, are exempt.

Every person renting transient accommodations must register with the DOR to collect and remit the tax, and so must anyone who receives the rent on the owner’s behalf. Our guide to Florida’s tourist development tax covers county filing.

What should a seasonal lease cover?

Put the whole arrangement in writing. Chapter 83 excludes “transient occupancy” in hotels, condominiums and similar public lodging under §83.42(3), and §83.43(18) defines that as occupancy the parties intend to be temporary. Because a months-long stay in a home may still be treated as a tenancy, write the lease as if the Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act applies.

A practical seasonal lease covers:

• Exact start and end dates, total rent, and when each payment is due. Under §83.46(1), rent is due at the start of each period unless agreed otherwise.
• The deposit, held in a separate Florida bank account or behind a bond as §83.49 requires, with the 15-day and 30-day move-out deadlines.
• Who pays utilities. §83.51(2)(e) allows a lease to make the tenant pay for garbage removal, water, fuel or utilities.
• The landlord’s name and address for notices, required by §83.50, and an email notice addendum under §83.505 if both sides want it.
• Access for repairs, which under §83.53 means at least 24 hours’ notice and entry between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.

Length triggers two disclosures. The radon statement in §404.056(5) is excused only for transient occupancy of 45 days or less. For homes built before 1978, the federal lead paint disclosure exempts only leases of 100 days or less that cannot be renewed or extended, so most full-season leases need it.

What if the guest will not leave?

A fixed-term lease ends on its date. If the guest stays without permission, §83.58 lets the landlord recover possession through the court and “double the amount of rent due” for the holdover period. Our eviction guide explains the court steps. Lockouts and utility shut-offs are barred by §83.67.

Can my condo or HOA block a seasonal rental?

It can set the minimum. Homeowners’ associations may amend their documents to “prohibit or regulate rental agreements for a term of less than 6 months” and to bar renting a parcel more than three times in a calendar year under §720.306(1)(h)2, and those amendments bind every owner. Other rental restrictions enacted after July 1, 2021 apply only to owners who consent or who buy after the amendment.

For condominiums, §718.110(13) says an amendment that prohibits rentals, alters the rental term or limits how often owners may rent “applies only to unit owners who consent to the amendment and unit owners who acquire title to their units after the effective date of that amendment.” Read the declaration, the rules and any lease-approval process before you accept a booking. Our guide to Florida condo rental restrictions goes further.

How does seasonal compare with nightly and annual rentals?

Topic	Nightly (under 30 days)	Seasonal (30 days to 6 months)	Annual (written, over 6 months)
DBPR license	Required when rented more than three times a year, §509.241(1)	Generally not, if §509.013(4)(b)4 is met	No
6% state tax and county tourist tax	Yes	Yes	No, with a bona fide written agreement
Main body of law	Chapter 509	Chapter 83 may apply	Chapter 83
HOA may restrict	Yes	Yes, under six months	New restrictions bind only consenting owners and later buyers

Our side-by-side of Airbnb, mid-term and long-term rentals covers the workload differences too.

How Florida Hosts helps

Florida Hosts manages furnished seasonal stays as part of our mid-term rental management, with licensed brokers for the leasing. Our own cleaning and maintenance staff prepare the home before the season and look after it during the stay, and guests can reach us 24/7. We also help set up the DOR and county tax accounts if you do not have them.

A free rental projection compares a winter season with nightly stays for your address, sent within one business day.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice; confirm your situation with the Department of Revenue, your county tax collector and a Florida attorney or tax professional.