Polk County does not impose a special guest-occupancy cap on vacation rentals. Florida law bars local governments from adopting occupancy standards for STRs unless applied uniformly to all residential units.
Florida's preemption (FS 509.032(7)(a)) leaves lodging-establishment standards to the state, and a 2021 addition (FS 509.032(7)(b)2., in later editions) requires that any local occupancy or capacity rule apply uniformly to all residential dwellings, not just vacation rentals. Polk County sets no STR-specific occupancy cap; a rental is 'transient' when rented to guests more than three times a year for stays under 30 days. Practical occupancy is governed by Florida Building/Fire Code and any DBPR balcony/sleeping-area limits.
There is no county STR occupancy fine; overcrowding beyond building- or fire-code limits is enforced through those state codes and DBPR inspection.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Winter Haven, FL
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