Collier County, FL Short-Term Rentals: Host Presence Rule (2026)

Sec. 26-384(5) of the Collier County Short-Term Vacation Rental Registration Ordinance requires the Owner, or the Owner's Designated Responsible Party named on the county Registration Certificate, to be available in person or by telephone twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week to address any law enforcement action, emergency response, or County ordinance violation arising from the rental, and to be willing and able to be onsite to address violations within the next day of notification. The rule is a contact-and-response requirement, not a physical host-presence rule: the ordinance does not require an owner or manager to live in the unit or stay on the property during a guest's stay, and short-term rentals are allowed to operate fully unhosted, as long as whoever is designated can be reached and can appear the following day.

The Designated Responsible Party is defined in Sec. 26-383 as anyone 18 or older, and can be a private property-management company retained by the owner rather than the owner personally; that party is also the one authorized under Sec. 26-383 to accept county citations and notices of violation for the unit. The requirement exists, per the legislative findings in Sec. 26-382, because the county found that short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods can generate noise, trash and parking complaints and that many owners live elsewhere, so the ordinance guarantees neighbors and code enforcement a live point of contact rather than an unanswered mailbox.