That paragraph is the whole job. Most of the work in buying a rental property is confirming those five things at a specific address before the inspection period ends, and walking away from the ones where the answer is no.
Home / Short-term rentals
Buying a house you intend to rent
In Fort Lauderdale, a house can be rented for short stays only if zoning permits it at that address, the property is registered as a vacation rental with the city and passes inspection, the owner holds a Florida DBPR vacation rental license, and a Broward County tourist development tax account is open. A condominium or HOA minimum stay overrides all of it.
What gets checked, and when
Before an offer
Zoning at the address. Whether the building or association permits short stays, and what its minimum is. Whether the property already holds a city vacation rental registration, because an active one transfers a known quantity and its absence does not.
During inspection
What the city inspection will require, which is usually life safety and egress rather than finishes. Roof, panel and water heater age, because those three decide the insurance quote, and the insurance quote decides whether the numbers work at all.
Before closing
The DBPR license application, the county tourist tax account and the registration filing, sequenced so the property is legal to rent on the day it is legal to occupy rather than six weeks later.
After closing
The calendar. August 1 for the city renewal, September 30 for expiry, December 1 for the state license and the 20th of every month for the county tax return, filed even when the month was empty.
Questions people actually ask
Can you buy a house in Fort Lauderdale and rent it on Airbnb?
Yes, in most of the city, but only after the property is registered as a vacation rental with the City of Fort Lauderdale, passes a city inspection, holds a Florida DBPR vacation rental license and has a Broward County tourist development tax account. Zoning has to permit the use at that address, and a condominium or HOA can impose a minimum stay that overrides everything else.
What stops a property from working as a short-term rental?
Four things, in the order they usually appear: zoning that does not permit the use at that address, a condominium or homeowners association minimum stay, a property that cannot pass the city inspection without work, and an insurance quote that makes the numbers fail. All four are checkable before an offer becomes binding.
Do the platforms handle the taxes?
Partly, and it depends on the county. In Broward County the tourist development tax return is filed monthly, by the 20th, including in months with no revenue. In Palm Beach County the platforms do not remit the tourist tax at all and the host files it directly. Confirm the current position with the county before assuming a platform is covering it.
Does someone need to live nearby?
Fort Lauderdale requires a responsible party: a natural person within 25 miles of the property, reachable 24 hours a day and able to be physically present. Some other Broward municipalities are stricter and require that person to live or work inside the town, which rules out managing from another city.
Can you sell a house that has bookings on the calendar?
Yes. Reservations already accepted are usually honored by the buyer or settled at closing, and the booking history itself is part of what is being sold. Timing matters, because a sale that lands in the middle of a high season calendar is harder for both sides than one that does not.
Disclosure
Her relationship to Holdfast Holdings
Isabelle is a co-founder of Holdfast Holdings LLC, a Fort Lauderdale short-term rental management company, and she is the agent it refers acquisition work to.
That relationship is why she knows the operating side of this in detail. It is also a financial interest, and it is stated here so that buyers can weigh it themselves. She is not obliged to bring anyone to Holdfast, and buying a property through her does not require using it.
Not buying to rent?
Most of Isabelle's work is ordinary buying and selling. This page exists because the rental question needs answering properly, not because it is all she does.
Written October 15, 2026. Reviewed quarterly. Nothing on this page is legal or tax advice, and municipal rules change. Confirm the current position with the City of Fort Lauderdale, the Florida DBPR and Broward County before you rely on it.