Bradenton, FL Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Permits (2026)

Article III of Chapter 22 is the City of Bradenton's vacation rental program, and Sec. 22-52(a) is its gatekeeper. No vacation rental can be rented or offered for rent without a current valid certificate of registration, and a separate certificate is required for each vacation rental. The initial application deadline was August 1, 2022 and the certificate deadline was December 31, 2023; after that date, operating without one is a violation. Sec. 22-51 defines a vacation rental by reference to F.S. ch. 509, and defines a bedroom as a room of a minimum of 100 square feet with a bed or other place for sleeping and either a separate closet or an en suite bathroom.

The application, signed under penalty of perjury, carries the nineteen items listed in Sec. 22-52(b). They include proof of ownership, the annual registration fee, a designation of responsible party form, a copy of the City of Bradenton business tax receipt, evidence of a county tax collector account for tourist development taxes, the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation license as a transient public lodging establishment, the state Department of Revenue certificate, an exterior site sketch, an interior floor plan for each floor, and a blank sample of the rental lease. An incomplete application is rejected, with 20 calendar days to cure before it is deemed withdrawn.

Sec. 22-53(a) issues the certificate only when the application is complete, all required fees and previously imposed fines are paid, and the initial inspection under Sec. 22-58 shows compliance with the building codes, fire prevention code, property maintenance code, the safety requirements of Sec. 22-60 and the posting requirements of Sec. 22-61. The certificate shows the street address, owner, designated responsible party name and telephone number, expiration date and maximum occupancy.

Conditions run with the permit. Maximum occupancy is the lesser of two persons per bedroom plus two additional persons, one person per 150 square feet of temperature-controlled living space, or twelve persons (Sec. 22-64). Sec. 22-62 requires one space of off-street parking for every four persons of occupancy. Sec. 22-63 requires a designated responsible party available 24 hours a day who comes to the property within one hour of notification.