Occupancy Limits: Cape Coral vs Fort Myers

How many guests can stay at a Fort Myers Airbnb?

The City of Fort Myers has not enacted an STR-specific occupancy cap. Florida's 2023 legislative session amended FS § 509.032 to permit local governments to cap STR occupancy at the lesser of two persons per bedroom plus an additional two in common area (with some flexibility based on square footage), but Fort Myers has not adopted such an ordinance. Practical occupancy is governed by the Florida Building Code (each sleeping room must be a legal bedroom with proper egress and smoke detector), the Florida Fire Prevention Code (R-3 occupant-load calculations), and the maximum occupancy the operator declares on the Florida DBPR Vacation Rental Dwelling license. Most operators self-impose 'two per bedroom plus two' as a platform best practice.

Can Fort Myers force me to limit guest count at my STR?

Not currently through an STR-specific occupancy ordinance - the city has not enacted one. However, the city can enforce generally-applicable life-safety rules: the Florida Building Code's bedroom and egress standards (each sleeping room must be a legal bedroom), the Florida Fire Prevention Code's occupant-load calculations for the structure type, and the maximum occupancy stated on your DBPR Vacation Rental Dwelling license. If you misrepresent bedroom count on the DBPR application or exceed the structure's fire-code occupant load, you face state-level enforcement independent of any city cap. The 2023 amendments to FS § 509.032 gave Fort Myers the authority to adopt a city cap if it chooses; check fortmyers.gov for updates.

What is a 'legal bedroom' for STR occupancy in Fort Myers?

A legal bedroom under the Florida Building Code must be original construction or properly permitted as a bedroom, must have a smoke detector, must have a direct outside door or an egress window (minimum width 20 inches, minimum height 24 inches, minimum 5.7 square feet openable area at ground level or 5.0 square feet at/below grade, sill no more than 44 inches above the finished floor for residential), must meet minimum ceiling-height (7'-0" minimum for habitable rooms), and must be permitted if the room was converted from another use (basement, garage, attic). Rooms that fail any of these criteria do not legally count as bedrooms for STR occupancy purposes even if they are advertised as such.