Property Management in St. Augustine Beach, FL — Airbnb & Short-Term Rentals

Short-term rental and Airbnb management in St. Augustine Beach

St. Augustine Beach is a separate city from St. Augustine, with its own Land Development Regulations and a tighter approach to short stays. Rentals of 30 days or less are allowed only in medium-density land use districts, they are a prohibited use in low-density residential areas, and the code does not authorize more than 100 of them in medium-density residential districts.

That makes property management in St. Augustine Beach a question of where the home sits before anything else. A condo or house in a medium-density district can work as a vacation rental with a city business tax receipt. A house in a low-density neighborhood cannot, but it can still be managed as a furnished monthly or annual rental.

Where guests come from

The beach is the draw, and the county keeps a beachfront park in the middle of town. St. Johns County’s Ocean Pier park at 350 A1A Beach Boulevard is a four-acre family park with a splash pad, playground, picnic tables and showers, and a gift shop renting fishing poles. The county lists the pier itself as closed for repairs until further notice.

Nearby, Anastasia State Park covers more than 1,600 acres of beach, tidal marsh, maritime hammock and ancient dunes, with a campground and paddling on Salt Run. The Saint Augustine Amphitheatre sits near the park and brings concert crowds. Fly-in guests can use Jacksonville International Airport (JAX).

St. Augustine Beach short-term rental rules

LDR §3.09.00, as amended by Ordinances 18-07, 19-06 and 20-02, allows transient lodging establishments within medium-density land use districts. It covers houses, attached dwellings and accessory buildings, but not hotels, motels, resort condominiums or bed and breakfasts. It does not authorize more than 100 such units in medium-density residential districts, and when space opens, new units get priority by the date of their business tax receipt application. §3.02.03 lists transient lodging in low-density residentially zoned areas as a prohibited use.

Each rental needs a city business tax receipt, issued after the owner shows a Department of Revenue sales tax number, and a DBPR license under §509.241 if it is rented more than three times a year for under 30 days. The application names a local contact with a working local phone number and street address, and that number is posted at the home. Owners file a rental report by February 1 each year and a minimum standards form by October 1.

Occupancy is two persons over 15 per bedroom, plus two for one sleeper sofa per floor. Guests get a copy of the city’s ordinances before arrival, and a notice inside covers noise, parking, dune protection, turtle nesting season, littering and trash. Parking is limited to the spaces on the site, trash cans must go out and come back on schedule, and the city inspects on complaint or at an inspector’s initiative.

Florida law limits local rules on rental duration and frequency adopted after June 1, 2011 (§509.032(7)(b)). The city enforces its code as written, and so do we.

Taxes on St. Augustine Beach vacation rentals

Stays of six months or less carry Florida’s 6% sales tax under §212.03 and a 0.5% county discretionary surtax listed for St. Johns on the DR-15DSS for 2026.

St. Johns County adds a 5% tourist development tax, shown on the state’s DR-15TDT chart as collected by the county, so it is filed with the county separately from the state return.

How Florida Hosts manages St. Augustine Beach rentals

Augustine Beach rentals

In St. Augustine Beach we confirm the land use district first, then handle the business tax receipt, the DBPR license, the county tourist tax account and the February rental report. Guests get the city’s ordinances before they arrive, and the posted notice stays current.

Our Airbnb management covers pricing, listings and 24/7 guest communication, with our own cleaning and maintenance staff keeping trash, dune and turtle rules in hand between stays. In St. Augustine Beach the fee for short-term rental management is 18–25% of booking revenue, given as a written quote. Homes in low-density districts can be managed as mid-term or long-term rentals with licensed brokers handling the leasing, and a free rental projection arrives within one business day.