Short-Term Rental Rules in Southwest Florida (2026 Guide)

Florida preempts most local short-term rental bans: since 2011, cities and counties generally cannot prohibit vacation rentals or regulate their duration or frequency. The major exception is ordinances adopted before June 1, 2011 - which is why islands like Sanibel and Fort Myers Beach still enforce older restrictions.

Regardless of city, whole-home rentals offered more than three times a year for stays under 30 days require a Florida DBPR vacation rental license, a state sales tax registration, and a Lee County tourist development tax account. Skipping the DBPR license is one of the most common - and most avoidable - compliance failures for new operators.

Short-term stays (six months or less) in Lee County are subject to the 5% tourist development tax on gross rental receipts, remitted to the Lee County Clerk, plus 6.5% sales tax (state plus county surtax). Combined, that is roughly 11.5% on top of the rental amount, and it generally applies to required fees like cleaning charges, not just the nightly rate.

Airbnb and Vrbo collect some of these taxes on some bookings, but platform collection does not automatically cover everything - many operators still must register, file returns, and remit the tourist development tax themselves. Confirm exactly which taxes your platform remits for your address before assuming you are covered.

Cape Coral overhauled its rental registration program effective January 1, 2026. All residential rentals must now register with the city annually - short-term rentals (leased six months or less) pay a $350 annual fee per property, while long-term rentals pay $35. Renewals are due on the anniversary of your original registration, with a $50 late fee and escalating fines for non-compliance.

Enforcement has teeth: unregistered or late short-term rentals face fines starting around $500 for a first violation and $1,000 for repeat offenses, and owners who register as long-term while operating short-term face separate, higher penalties. The city is funding dedicated compliance monitoring, so operating quietly without registering is a genuine financial risk.

The City of Fort Myers expressly excludes vacation rentals from its residential rental certificate program, and its code sets no night cap, minimum stay, or booking frequency limit. General ordinances - noise, parking, occupancy - still apply every night the unit is occupied.

Unincorporated Lee County (including North Fort Myers and Lehigh Acres) has no county-level vacation rental permit at all; the tourist development tax is the main county obligation. The one exception is Captiva Island, where RSC-2 zoned lots cannot be rented for periods under seven days and only one lease at a time is allowed.

Sanibel requires an annual city Dwelling Rental License and enforces a 28-day minimum rental period everywhere except zoning districts where resort housing is a permitted use. Violations can be charged as a misdemeanor with fines up to $500 per day, per unit. A Sanibel address is not a nightly-rental investment unless the specific parcel sits in a resort-housing zone.

Fort Myers Beach restricts most residential zoning districts to one rental per month with a one-week minimum stay, with exceptions for registered pre-existing weekly rentals and certain condominiums that documented their short-term rental rights with the town. Here, the property's registry status and condo documents determine what income is actually achievable.

Even where the city allows nightly rentals, HOA covenants and condo declarations frequently impose 30-day, 90-day, or annual-lease minimums, application fees, or outright rental caps. These private restrictions are enforceable regardless of state preemption, and they are the single most common reason a short-term rental underwriting falls apart after purchase.

Before buying, read the declaration, bylaws, and current rules for any association property - and get the association's rental policy in writing. For investors comparing markets, non-HOA single-family homes in Cape Coral, Fort Myers, and North Fort Myers offer the fewest private-restriction surprises.

Beyond legality, short-term rentals carry a different cost structure than long-term leases: commercial or STR-specific insurance, higher utilities and turnover costs, 20-30% professional management fees, seasonal demand swings, and non-homestead property tax treatment. Peak-season winter rates in Southwest Florida can look spectacular; the underwriting question is what August looks like.

Run the numbers with realistic occupancy, the full 11.5% tax load, registration and licensing fees, and a hurricane-season vacancy cushion. If the deal only works at peak-season assumptions, it is not a durable investment.