No. Osceola County cannot require a short-term rental to be the owner's primary residence. Florida's FS 509.032(7)(b) bars counties from prohibiting vacation rentals or restricting their duration/frequency, so non-owner-occupied and investor-owned rentals are allowed if licensed.
A vacation rental in Florida is defined broadly as any single-family through four-family dwelling used as a transient public lodging establishment (FS 509.242(1)(c)) — no owner-occupancy is built in. Because FS 509.032(7)(b) forbids counties from banning vacation rentals or capping how often they rent, Osceola County cannot impose a primary-residence-only rule. Investor-owned resort dwellings are common across the Disney/US-192 corridor. The county's leverage is licensing, inspection, occupancy, parking, noise, and the 6% tourist tax — not owner residency.
There is no residency violation to enforce; enforcement instead targets unlicensed operation, unpaid tourist tax, and occupancy/parking/noise breaches.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Osceola County, FL
Residential backyard composting is allowed in Osceola County. Keep the pile contained and free of odor and pests so it does not become a Chapter 23 nuisance....
Osceola County, FL
Osceola County does not ban residential artificial turf, but it is not a Florida-Friendly Landscaping category and receives no special state protection. Deve...
Osceola County, FL
State law protects your right to install Florida-Friendly, native, drought-tolerant landscaping. Neither Osceola County nor an HOA may prohibit it. County la...
Osceola County, FL
Rain barrels and residential rainwater harvesting are legal in Osceola County and across Florida, with no state permit for small-scale residential collection...
Osceola County, FL
Osceola County follows St. Johns River Water Management District rules: two days a week in daylight-saving time, one day a week in winter, no watering 10 a.m...
Osceola County, FL
Osceola County treats overgrown weeds and grass as a property-maintenance nuisance under Chapter 23. In the West 192 overlay, developed lots must stay at or ...
See how Osceola County's primary-residence-only rule rules stack up against other locations.
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