Boca Raton, FL Short-Term Rentals: Night Caps (2026)

Boca Raton has not adopted an annual night-cap or maximum-rented-nights ordinance for vacation rentals. Instead, Chapter 28, Article IX of the Zoning Code restricts permitted uses in single-family residential districts (R-1 through R-1-D under Sec. 28-344) to long-term residential occupancy, and the city's planning office treats any rental of a house, portion of a house, or condominium for less than six months as prohibited transient use. The practical effect is a six-month minimum lease in single-family neighborhoods rather than a cap on the number of nights a host can rent. Florida Statute 509.032(7)(b) preempts cities from adopting STR-specific regulations (including night caps) stricter than those applied to other dwellings unless they were grandfathered in before June 1, 2011, which prevents Boca Raton from layering an additional cap on top of its zoning prohibition. Properties in commercial or multi-family motel/hotel districts (such as R-B-1 or R-5-A) operate under their own conditional-use approvals and are not subject to a city night cap. Florida's statewide rule under F.S. 509.013 still applies: a dwelling rented more than three times in a calendar year for periods of less than 30 days, or advertised as such, is regulated as a transient public lodging establishment.