Clearwater Short-Term Rentals: Night Caps Rules (2026)

Florida's 2011 vacation rental preemption in F.S. 509.032(7)(b) blocks any local government from regulating the duration or frequency of vacation rentals through ordinances adopted after June 1, 2011. Clearwater's pre-2011 zoning scheme survives the preemption because it limits short stays through a long-standing zoning use definition rather than a frequency cap. Under the Clearwater Community Development Code, transient accommodation use, defined as occupancy for less than one month or 31 days, is allowed only in Tourist (T) and Commercial (C) zoning districts and a few overlay areas. In all single-family and multi-family residential districts, including LMDR, MDR, and HDR, a 31-day minimum stay applies and owners may not advertise daily or weekly rentals. Once a property is properly located in a permitted zone and holds a current Business Tax Receipt, neither the city nor the county imposes a per-year cap on the number of nights it can host, no booking-frequency limit between guests, and no on-site host or primary-residence requirement. Pinellas County's 2025 STR Certificate of Use program, which requires off-street parking and 10-guest occupancy caps, applies only outside city limits and does not bind Clearwater STRs.