Home / Short-term rentals / Fort Lauderdale rules

Fort Lauderdale short-term rental rules

Fort Lauderdale requires every vacation rental to hold a city registration and pass inspection, to hold a Florida DBPR vacation rental license, and to have a Broward County tourist development tax account. Registration is $880 to open and $650 a year to renew, renewals run from August 1, and everything expires on September 30.

What follows is the operating calendar and the fee schedule, as they stand today. It is written from what the city has actually charged rather than from a summary.

Traffic signals for Sunrise Boulevard and State Road A1A at the Fort Lauderdale beachfront, with wind-bent palms and the ocean behind — Sunrise Boulevard and A1A · Photo by Brad Stell on Unsplash

What it costs

Fee	Amount	Notes
New vacation rental registration	$880	Per folio, covering up to four units, and including the first inspection.
Annual renewal, not owner-occupied	$650	Per property, per year.
Annual renewal, owner-occupied homestead	$200	Per property, per year.
Late or incomplete renewal	$100	Per property, added if the renewal is not complete on August 1.

Figures as of October 15, 2026. The $880 figure is the new registration fee and is also what is charged if a renewal is allowed to lapse past September 30, because the city then reprocesses the property as new.

The year, in order

The vacation rental year, month by month
August 1	Vacation rental renewal is submitted through LauderBuild. A renewal that is late or incomplete on this date picks up the $100 penalty.
September 30	The city vacation rental certificate, the city business tax receipt and the county business tax receipt all expire. A renewal that slips past this date is reprocessed as a new registration, at the higher fee.
December 1	The Florida DBPR vacation rental license renews. Broward is District 2.
The 20th, monthly	The Broward County tourist development tax return is due, and it is filed even in a month with no revenue.

The responsible party rule

Fort Lauderdale requires a natural person within 25 miles of the property, reachable 24 hours a day, and able to be physically present at it. For an owner living locally this is not a constraint. For an out-of-state owner it decides who manages the property, and it has to be settled before closing rather than after the first guest.

The rule is not uniform across Broward. Several neighboring municipalities require the responsible party to live or work inside the town itself, which means a manager based in Fort Lauderdale cannot serve that role there. This is the first thing to check when a property sits outside city limits.

Distance: Within 25 miles of the property
Availability: 24 hours a day
Who: A natural person, able to attend in person
Outside the city: Check the municipality. Several are stricter.

Common questions

How much does a Fort Lauderdale vacation rental registration cost?

A new registration is $880 per folio, covering up to four units on that folio and including the first inspection. Annual renewal is $650 for a property that is not owner-occupied and $200 for an owner-occupied homestead. A renewal that is late or incomplete on August 1 adds $100 per property. Figures as of October 15, 2026.

When does a Fort Lauderdale vacation rental certificate expire?

September 30. The renewal is submitted from August 1 through LauderBuild, and the city business tax receipt and county business tax receipt expire on the same date. A renewal that slips past September 30 is reprocessed as a new registration at the higher fee, so the deadline is worth more than the late fee suggests.

Who has to be available while guests are staying?

Fort Lauderdale requires a responsible party who is a natural person, within 25 miles of the property, reachable 24 hours a day, and able to be physically present. An answering service does not satisfy it.

What does it cost to run, per year?

The recurring baseline for a property that is not owner-occupied comes to about $987.50 a year, covering the city renewal and the associated annual filings. That figure excludes the county business tax receipt, any reinspection, late fees and insurance, which is the largest variable cost and the one that most often decides a deal.

Checking a specific address

Rules are citywide. Whether they let a particular house work is not. Send an address and Isabelle will tell you what applies to it.

Last reviewed October 15, 2026. Fees and dates are compiled from City of Fort Lauderdale charges and filings and are believed current at that date. This page is not legal or tax advice. Confirm with the City of Fort Lauderdale, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation and the Broward County Tourist Development Tax section before acting on it.