Leon County, FL Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)

Leon County has no separately adopted ordinance setting maximum overnight occupancy, guest counts, or bedroom-based limits for short-term rentals in the unincorporated area. Florida's vacation-rental preemption is the controlling backdrop: under Florida Statutes § 509.032(7)(b), a local law, ordinance, or regulation "may not prohibit vacation rentals or regulate the duration or frequency of rental of vacation rentals," except for rules adopted on or before June 1, 2011. No grandfathered pre-2011 Leon County vacation-rental occupancy ordinance was found. State law (§ 509.032(7)) does allow local governments, by ordinance, to regulate certain matters such as maximum occupancy based on square footage or number of bedrooms in a manner that applies uniformly to all residential properties, but Leon County does not appear to have enacted a vacation-rental-specific occupancy ordinance. In practice, the limits that apply are generic, non-STR-specific safety and code requirements: Florida Building Code and Fire Prevention Code occupancy and egress standards, and DBPR's balcony/railing and life-safety inspection requirements for licensed vacation rentals under Chapter 509. Owners should confirm current rules directly with Leon County Development Support and Environmental Management, since preemption details and any future local ordinance can change.