Bradenton, FL Rental Inspections: Inspection Programs (2026)

Article III of Chapter 22 of the Bradenton Code of Ordinances runs the city's only rental inspection program, and it covers vacation rentals as Florida Statutes chapter 509 defines them. Section 22-58 sets the inspection rules. When an owner files for a certificate of registration, the unit is inspected before issuance. The inspector checks the building codes, the fire prevention code and the property maintenance code in effect when the certificate of occupancy was issued, and confirms compliance with the article and with the rest of the City's Code of Ordinances, including the international property maintenance code. Section 22-53 ties the certificate directly to that result: the city issues it only when the inspection shows compliance, including the minimum safety requirements of section 22-60 and the posting requirements of section 22-61.

The designated responsible party, not the city, schedules and confirms every inspection. Section 22-63(b) requires that person to have authority to consent to inspector access to the property.

Renewal is lighter. Certificates expire on December 31 each year under section 22-54, and renewal applications are filed between August 1 and October 1. A renewal does not require an inspection unless the vacation rental has not been inspected within the five years immediately preceding the renewal date. Renewals that do need re-inspection must be filed at least 90 days before the certificate expires. A sale or transfer restarts the process: section 22-56 requires an inspection whenever a new certificate application is filed because of a change of ownership.

If an inspector finds non-compliance, the owner has 30 calendar days after written notice to the designated responsible party to correct it and have the unit re-inspected. Refusing access has consequences too. When the inspector is denied admittance or cannot finish an inspection after at least three attempts, the city sends a notice of inability to inspect, and no certificate is issued or renewed until the inspection is done. That notice, issued after the third failed attempt, is itself deemed a violation of the article.