Miami Beach short-term rental laws are among the strictest in Florida. The city does not treat South Beach like Destin or Kissimmee. Vacation and short-term rentals — occupancy for less than six months and one day — are prohibited in all single-family homes and in many multi-family buildings in restricted zoning districts. A listing can cash-flow on Airbnb and still fail every compliance and financing test.
This guide is educational, not legal advice. Confirm zoning, condo documents, and licensing with the City of Miami Beach and counsel before you operate or finance.
Hub: short-term rental laws for investors. Compare more open Florida markets: Destin STR loans · Kissimmee STR loans.
What Miami Beach actually regulates
The city’s public definition is not “under 30 days.” Under the Resiliency Code (7.5.4.13 and 7.5.4.11(a)), a vacation or short-term rental is occupancy for less than six months and one day. That is the line that decides whether a lease is a regulated STR or a longer residential tenancy.
| Question | Official Miami Beach answer |
|---|---|
| What is an STR? | Occupancy under six months and one day |
| Single-family homes? | Prohibited citywide for vacation/STR use |
| All apartments? | No — many multi-family districts are restricted |
| Legal path? | Authorized building + zoning + city licenses + taxes |
| State DBPR license enough? | No — local land use still controls |
If your pro forma assumes $350 ADR on a residential bungalow or a random condo, stop at zoning first. The interest-rate band does not matter on an illegal use.
Single-family homes are off the investor STR map
Resiliency Code 7.5.4.11(a) (formerly discussed in older code as Sec. 142-905) prohibits vacation and short-term rentals in all single-family homes. The city’s published guidance is blunt: single-family homes may only be leased for six months and one day or longer.
That kills the classic investor thesis — buy a North Beach or Mid-Beach house, furnish it, list nightly. The legal residential use on those parcels is mid-term or long-term lease, not Airbnb.
Investors who still want nightly income in Miami-Dade should look at authorized multi-family buildings inside Miami Beach, or at other Florida cities with open vacation-rental programs. Do not import Destin or Osceola assumptions onto a Miami Beach tax bill.
Multi-family districts — not a blanket yes
Short-term rental of apartments and townhomes is prohibited in several zoning districts, including (as set out in the city’s historic Sec. 142-1111 / Resiliency Code 7.5.4.13 framework) districts such as RM-1, RM-PRD, RM-PRD-2, RPS-1, RPS-2, CD-1, RO, RO-3, and TH, unless a specific exemption applies. Those districts may not be used as a hotel.
Higher-density and commercial or mixed-use districts — including parts of RM-2, RM-3, CD-2, CD-3, and MXE — are where legal vacation rentals more often exist, if the building is on the city’s authorized list and the association allows the use.
The city publishes an Apartment Buildings Authorized for Short Term Rental table on the same vacation-rental page. That list is the diligence document. A South Beach map pin is not.
Grandfathered exceptions have existed in narrow historic corridors (for example Flamingo Park / Española Way, portions of the Collins Waterfront historic district, and contributing buildings on Harding Avenue in North Beach), often with minimum-night and on-site management conditions. Treat those as exceptions you must prove, not as a neighborhood-wide green light.
Three layers that all have to clear
Legal Miami Beach vacation rental is a stack, not a single permit:
- City zoning and authorized-building status — Resiliency Code plus the published building list and zoning map.
- Association documents — condo or HOA approval. The city’s short-term rental requirements ask for a letter from the association that STR is allowed for the specific unit, dated within the last 60 days. If the association lacks an active BTR, that can block the unit BTR.
- Florida DBPR — a vacation rental license under Chapter 509, Florida Statutes, issued by the Division of Hotels and Restaurants. State licensing does not legalize a use the city prohibits.
A DBPR license on a single-family house or a restricted RM-1 apartment is still an illegal local operation.
City licenses and taxes when the use is allowed
Where Miami Beach does allow vacation rental, the city’s requirements checklist typically includes:
| Requirement | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Approved Certificate of Use | Land-use approval for the activity |
| Business Tax Receipt (BTR) | Local occupational license — codes 95017300 / 95017301 |
| Resort Tax registration | Local tax account; number must appear in ads (Sec. 102-386) |
| Recorded deed, entity docs, FEIN | Ownership and operator identity |
| Florida annual resale certificate for sales tax | State sales-tax compliance |
| State lodging license | DBPR vacation rental where required |
| Association approval letter (60 days) | Condo / HOA gate |
| Homestead-exemption acknowledgment | STR use can affect homestead |
| Platform list and operator IDs | Advertising and enforcement |
| Notarized affidavit | Operator certification |
Advertisements for permitted vacation rentals must conspicuously display the City-issued BTR number and the Resort Tax certificate number (City Code Sec. 102-386). Missing numbers are an easy enforcement flag.
Code Compliance contact published by the city: 305.673.7555. Customer Service Center: 305.673.7420.
Florida DBPR layer (state, not a Miami Beach override)
Florida’s Division of Hotels and Restaurants licenses vacation rentals as transient public lodging under § 509.242(1)(c). A vacation rental is a condo, cooperative, or 1–4 family dwelling held out as transient lodging — not a timeshare project.
Apply through the official vacation rental licensing guide. The division publishes a searchable vacation rental database that refreshes daily. Lenders and buyers can check whether a unit is actually licensed.
DBPR also requires human trafficking awareness training for covered lodging staff under § 509.096. That is a state operating duty, not a zoning cure.
Enforcement and investor consequences
Miami Beach treats illegal vacation rentals as a code-compliance problem, not a paperwork inconvenience. Operators without zoning approval, BTR, or Resort Tax accounts face complaints, inspections, and forced delisting.
For investors, the damage is not only municipal:
- Illegal listing — no STR income on DSCR appraisal
- Insurance claim denial — if the policy excludes unpermitted STR
- Association action — special assessments, fines, or forced sale pressure
- Resale stigma — buyers discount “STR-was-illegal” assets
- Homestead risk — the city requires written acknowledgment that STR use can affect homestead exemption
Budget legal-use confirmation in due diligence — not after hard money closes.
Legal alternatives when nightly STR is blocked
When zoning or the association kills the Airbnb thesis, investors still have hold strategies:
| Strategy | Regulatory profile | Financing note |
|---|---|---|
| Lease of six months and one day or longer | Aligns with the city’s STR definition | Easier DSCR with a written lease |
| 12-month long-term hold | Standard residential rental | Form 1007 market rent |
| Authorized multi-family unit | Building on the city list + association yes | Different basis and HOA dues |
| Different Florida market | Osceola, Okaloosa, and other programs | See corridor and Gulf guides |
Read why short-term rentals are booming for demand context — then verify this address.
Worked example: South Beach condo vs. legal six-month lease
File that dies: Investor buys a single-family Mid-Beach house or a restricted-district condo planning nightly Airbnb. Listing goes live without an authorized-building match, BTR, or Resort Tax account. Code Compliance cites the property. DSCR refi ordered with AirDNA income — declined because the use is illegal and insurance excludes STR.
File that clears: Same price point, but the unit is on the city’s authorized apartment building list, the association letter is current, Certificate of Use / BTR / Resort Tax / DBPR are active, and ads show the required numbers. Alternatively, the investor runs a six-month-plus-one-day corporate lease on a residential parcel that cannot host vacation rental. DSCR underwrites on documented legal income at 5.75%–10.5% on eligible programs.
The purchase price looked identical. The use was not.
Miami Beach STR pitfalls
- Assuming Florida is “STR friendly” — Miami Beach is the exception that proves the rule
- Using a 30-day mental model — the city line is six months and one day
- Buying single-family for Airbnb — prohibited citywide
- Skipping the authorized-building list — zoning district alone is not enough
- Condo estoppel skipped — 60-day association letter is a city application item
- DBPR license as a silver bullet — state license does not cure illegal local use
- Ads without BTR and Resort Tax numbers — Sec. 102-386 violation
- Hard money without an exit — bridge at 8.99%–13.5% with no legal STR or longer-term lease path is a trap
Diligence checklist before you bind contract
Copy this into the offer file. If any line is “unknown,” you do not have a nightly-income thesis yet.
- Folio, legal description, and zoning district from Miami Beach planning / GIS
- Address search on the city’s authorized apartment building table
- Condo questionnaire + 60-day association STR letter (or a written “no”)
- Whether the unit is single-family (automatic vacation-rental fail)
- Existing BTR, Certificate of Use, Resort Tax, and DBPR numbers — or a written path and timeline to obtain them
- Homestead status and the city’s required acknowledgment
- Wind, flood, and STR-endorsed insurance quotes — not a landlord HO-3
- A six-month-plus-one-day lease fallback and a 12-month 1007 rent opinion
Code Compliance (305.673.7555) will not bless a pro forma. They will inspect a complaint. Build the file as if they already have the address.
How this differs from other Florida STR markets
| Market | Typical investor path | Contrast |
|---|---|---|
| Miami Beach | Authorized multi-family only; SF banned | This page |
| City of Orlando | Owner-occupied home sharing | Orlando & Orange County STR laws |
| Osceola / Kissimmee | County STR license + DBPR on pool homes | Kissimmee STR loans |
| Destin / Okaloosa | City registration + TDT + wind/flood | Destin STR loans |
Do not paste a Disney-corridor pro forma onto a Miami Beach residential folio.
Financing once the use is legal
Jaken Finance Group originates business-purpose hard money and DSCR on non-owner-occupied investment property when the permitted use supports the hold:
| Phase | Program |
|---|---|
| Acquire + legalize | Hard money Florida · 8.99%–13.5% interest-only |
| Stabilized hold | Florida DSCR · 5.75%–10.5% |
| STR product menu | Short-term rental loans · Airbnb loan requirements |
| Permits and insurance | STR insurance and permits |
We do not finance illegal nightly operations. Confirm zoning and the authorized-building list before you submit a scenario.
Official sources (start here)
- City of Miami Beach — Vacation / short-term rentals (definition, map, authorized buildings, Sec. 102-386)
- Short-term rental requirements (CU, BTR, Resort Tax, association letter)
- Florida DBPR Division of Hotels and Restaurants
- Florida Statutes Chapter 509
Related resources
- Orlando and Orange County STR laws
- DSCR for Airbnb and VRBO
- (833) 264-7776 · Get approved
If you cannot find the building on the city’s authorized list, you do not have a Miami Beach vacation-rental acquisition. You have a mid-term or long-term hold — or you should be shopping Destin, Osceola, or another program that actually licenses investor nights. That honesty is what keeps the refinance from dying in month ten.
Next steps
- Pull zoning, the authorized-building list, and condo docs on the exact address
- Confirm whether the stay you modeled is under six months and one day
- If vacation rental is blocked, model a six-month-plus or 12-month lease
- Submit your deal only after legal use is documented
Miami Beach ordinances change — confirm current Resiliency Code and licensing with local counsel before operating or financing.