Osceola County, FL Short-Term Rentals: Primary-Residence-Only Rule (2026)
Key Facts
- Primary-residence rule
- Not allowed: preempted
- Investor rentals
- Permitted if licensed
- Rental definition
- 1–4 family transient lodging
- State authority
- FS 509.242 / 509.032(7)
- County leverage
- License, tax, occupancy, noise
Summary
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 is any unit or group of units in a condominium or cooperative or any individually or collectively owned single-family, two-family, three-family, or four-family house or dwelling unit that is also a transient public lodging establishment but that is not a timeshare project.
Full Breakdown
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.
Violations & Fines
There is no residency violation to enforce; enforcement instead targets unlicensed operation, unpaid tourist tax, and occupancy/parking/noise breaches.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I run an Osceola rental I don't live in?
What counts as a vacation rental in Florida?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Osceola County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Osceola County to another location·View the Florida short-term rentals overview
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