Orlando
Can you run an Airbnb or do rental arbitrage here? What the city requires: permits, taxes, safety rules and enforcement.
Red light: whole-home rentals only in a short list of non-residential zones
Home sharing is allowed in residential zones, but only for part of a home where you live, with you on site and one booking at a time.[1, 2] Renting the whole place makes it a Commercial Dwelling Unit, which the city says isn't allowed in residential zones.[2] The use table permits it only in a list of mixed-use, office and activity-center districts, with a few conditional ones.[3]
Our verdict, based on the sources at the end of this guide.
Orlando lets you rent only part of a home you live in, with you on site and one booking at a time.[1, 2] Renting the whole place makes it a Commercial Dwelling Unit, which isn't allowed in residential zones.[2] That use is limited to a list of mixed-use, office and activity-center districts.[3] A rental of 7 to 29 consecutive days counts as one, and shorter stays are classed as a motel.[9] The Code Enforcement Board can fine up to $1,000 a day once a compliance deadline passes.[10]
Key requirements
Zoning check
Home sharing is allowed in all residential zoning districts if you live on site.[2] A whole-home rental isn't allowed in residential districts and must be in a district the use table lists.[2, 3] The table permits it in O-3, MU-1, MU-2, AC-N, AC-1, AC-2, AC-3 and AC-3A, and lists it as conditional in MXD-2 and, outside the Traditional City, in O-1 and O-2.[3]
Commercial dwelling unit
The city code defines a Commercial Dwelling Unit as a unit with independent cooking and sleeping facilities, rented for 7 to 29 consecutive days.[9] Any unit rented for fewer than 7 consecutive days is classified as a motel.[9] The city's fact sheet says this use needs a Business Tax Receipt, and its apply page says some zoning may require Municipal Planning Board approval.[2, 8]
Home share registration
The registrant must be the owner or a tenant who lives on site, and a tenant needs the owner's notarized permission.[1, 2, 4] You also need two proofs of residency to establish primary residency, and an HOA approval letter if the property is in a mandatory HOA.[1, 4] The planning official can approve the application, add conditions or deny it.[4]
Fees and review
Registration costs $275 the first year, then $100 if the owner lives on the property or $125 if it's non-owner occupied.[1] The city's apply page mentions only a $100 renewal invoice, sent 30 days before the permit expires.[2] City staff review the application in three to four business days.[2]
City limits and county rules
The city tells you to check that an address is inside Orlando limits on the Orange County Property Appraiser site, under Municipality.[8] Outside the city, Orange County's code defines a single-family transient rental as a rental of less than 30 days.[11] Its main use table marks that use as permitted in R-3.[12]
Operational and safety standards
Listing rules
Link your proof of registration to every online ad.[1] The ad must match what the ordinance allows, such as one bedroom in a three-bedroom house.[1] An ad for renting any part of a residential property is admissible in an enforcement case and raises a rebuttable presumption that it's home sharing.[4]
Guest and room limits
Only one booking is allowed at a time.[1] A booking can have no more than four unrelated people, or two people per room if that's fewer.[1] No more than half of a dwelling unit can be used for home sharing.[1]
Inspection
After you pay the fee, a code enforcement officer emails you to schedule an interior inspection.[2] The permit is valid for one year, and an inspection is required each year.[2] The city's fact sheet says living spaces must be properly inspected and permitted, and garage or carport conversions can't rent until an inspection is finalized.[8]
No group home setup
The home sharing rules don't allow a home to be set up as a group home.[1] The city lists partitions, padlocks, key or deadbolt locks that limit access, and separately kept appliances or kitchen items as evidence of one.[1]
State license
A state vacation rental license is needed if you rent an entire unit more than three times in a calendar year for periods of less than 30 days or 1 calendar month, whichever is less.[13] Renting only individual rooms doesn't need one.[13] A single unit costs $170 for a full year, plus a $50 application fee for new applications.[14]
Tax obligations
State sales tax
Florida charges a 6% sales tax on rentals of living or sleeping accommodations for six months or less.[5] Sales tax and any surtax on transient rentals are reported to the Florida Department of Revenue.[5] The state's Oct 1, 2025 repeal of sales tax on commercial rent left transient rentals taxable.[15]
County surtax and tourist tax
Orange County's discretionary sales surtax is 0.5%.[6] Its tourist development tax is 6% on rentals of six months or less, in addition to state sales tax and any surtax.[7] The Orange County Comptroller administers the tourist tax.[16]
Who collects
The person who collects the rental charges from the guest must collect and remit the tourist tax, whether or not that person owns or manages the property.[16] The FAQ doesn't say booking platforms collect it for you, so confirm that before you count on it.[16]
Filing and penalties
Register for a tourist tax account through the Comptroller's site.[17] Returns are delinquent if not postmarked by the 20th of the month, and you must file every month even if you collected no tax.[16] The penalty is 10% of the tax due or $50, whichever is greater.[16]
City requirement
The city code requires that all sales and tourist development taxes for home sharing be remitted.[4]
Enforcement
Code board fines
For a first violation, the Code Enforcement Board can fine up to $1,000 for each day the violation continues past its compliance date.[10] A repeat violator can be fined up to $5,000 a day, and an irreparable violation up to $15,000.[10] A recorded fine order becomes a lien on the land and on other property the violator owns.[10]
Finable offenses
The city lists renting out an entire unit, leaving proof of registration out of an ad, and listings that don't match the ordinance as finable offenses.[1] Neighbors can report a home sharing problem to Code Enforcement at 407.246.2686 or online.[1]
Revocation
A violation of any home sharing standard or condition, or of any other law or code that applies to the property, results in revocation of the registration.[4]
Where cases go
The Code Enforcement Board hears alleged violations of the zoning code.[18] The city can also go to court for injunctive, declaratory or other civil relief, or for criminal sanctions.[18]
State law
Florida law bars local rules that prohibit vacation rentals or regulate how long or how often they're rented.[19] That doesn't apply to local rules adopted on or before June 1, 2011.[19] Orlando's code says owner-occupied home sharing isn't a vacation rental under Chapter 509.[9]
Bottom line for arbitrage
Skip Orlando unless the unit already sits in a district that allows whole-home rentals. Check the zoning before you pay anyone anything.
Step 1 is the hard part. We find landlords who already said yes →
Sources
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