No. Manatee County does not require the host to be on-site during a short-term rental. Florida preemption (FS 509.032(7)(b)) means the county cannot force host presence. A proposed ordinance would only require a reachable 24/7 responsible party, not physical presence.
Manatee County imposes no host-presence or on-site-host requirement in the unincorporated area, and Florida FS 509.032(7)(b) prevents local governments from prohibiting or over-regulating vacation rentals, which forecloses a mandatory-host-presence rule. Hosts may operate unhosted whole-home rentals. The June 2026 draft ordinance would require a designated 24/7 responsible party who is reachable by phone and can respond on-site within one hour of a complaint — this is a contact/response duty, not a requirement that the host physically stay during the guest's visit. The draft is not yet adopted.
None currently — no host-presence rule exists. If adopted, failure to designate or respond as the required 24/7 responsible party would be an ordinance violation.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Manatee County, FL
Backyard composting is allowed and encouraged in Manatee County for residents' own yard and food waste. No county permit is needed. Piles must be maintained ...
Manatee County, FL
Manatee County has no countywide ban on residential artificial turf; the Land Development Code governs landscaping in development. Synthetic turf typically c...
Manatee County, FL
Manatee County's Land Development Code (Chapter 7) requires native and drought-tolerant plantings in development landscaping. Florida law (FS 373.185) also p...
Manatee County, FL
Rain barrels and cisterns for landscape irrigation are legal and encouraged in Manatee County; SWFWMD and county utilities promote them for conservation. No ...
Manatee County, FL
Manatee County follows Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) restrictions. Under the current Modified Phase III shortage, lawn watering is lim...
Manatee County, FL
Weeds, grass, and undergrowth over 16 inches are a nuisance in unincorporated Manatee County under the Community Improvement / abandoned property provisions....
See how Palmetto's host presence rule rules stack up against other locations.
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