Fort Myers, FL Short-Term Rentals: Permit Requirements (2026)

Florida's vacation rental preemption is codified at FS § 509.032(7)(b), which provides that a local law, ordinance, or regulation may not prohibit vacation rentals, regulate the duration or frequency of rental, or require a license or registration for vacation rentals that is not required of similar property. The statute carves out a grandfather clause for ordinances adopted on or before June 1, 2011, which remain enforceable in their pre-2011 form. The City of Fort Myers did not adopt an STR-specific ordinance before June 1, 2011, so the city does not operate the kind of standalone STR permit program that Fort Myers Beach (a separate Lee County municipality with its own ordinance under Resolution 18-01 and Chapter 34 of its zoning code) operates. The 2024 Florida Legislature passed SB 280, which would have moved STR registration to a state-administered framework through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), but Governor DeSantis vetoed the bill in June 2024, leaving the 2011-vintage preemption framework intact. Inside the City of Fort Myers, an STR operator must instead comply with three layers of generally-applicable licensing. State layer: every dwelling rented more than three times in a calendar year for periods of less than 30 days is a 'vacation rental' under FS § 509.242 and must hold a DBPR Vacation Rental Dwelling license (single-family/townhome/up to 4 units) or Vacation Rental Condo license (condo unit). The DBPR license is annual at approximately $170 plus a $50 application fee, expiring October 1 each year. City layer: the City of Fort Myers Local Business Tax Receipt (BTR) under Code of Ordinances Chapter 82 is required of every business operating within city limits, including rental-property businesses; BTRs are issued by the Business Tax Division at 1825 Hendry Street, Suite 101 and renewed annually with the cycle July 1 - September 30 (expires September 30 of the following year). County layer: Lee County also issues its own Local Business Tax Receipt through the Lee County Tax Collector. STRs additionally must satisfy generally-applicable zoning (Land Development Code), building, fire, noise (Chapter 54, Article V), parking, and nuisance ordinances - those rules apply uniformly to all residential property and survive preemption because they are not STR-specific. Operators of STRs in Fort Myers should verify zoning of their specific parcel with the Planning Department at (239) 321-7925 before listing.