Palm Coast, FL Short-Term Rentals: Primary-Residence-Only Rule (2026)

Palm Coast's preemption analysis on primary-residence requirements mirrors the night-cap analysis: the 2023 amendments to FS § 509.032 created NEW local authority to require registration, designate a responsible party, impose occupancy caps, and require posting of maximum occupancy - but did NOT extend to authorizing primary-residence-only restrictions, owner-occupancy mandates, per-operator dwelling caps, or out-of-state-owner bans. Those restrictions remain in the FS § 509.032(7)(b) preemption zone alongside night caps and frequency regulations. Palm Coast did not adopt any pre-2011 STR ordinance, so the city does not have grandfather coverage that would allow it to layer primary-residence restrictions on top of the 2023 authority. Cities elsewhere in the United States that operate primary-residence-only frameworks (Denver, Portland OR, Santa Monica) do so under state regulatory regimes that permit such local rules; Florida's preemption framework forecloses this option for Palm Coast and similarly-situated Florida cities. Inside Palm Coast city limits under Ordinance 2025-01: (1) investment-property STRs are permitted on the same terms as primary-residence STRs - the city cannot deny a Section 17-68 registration on the ground that the property is not the operator's primary residence; (2) second-home STRs (snowbird-owned homes operated as STRs during summer months) are permitted; (3) corporate, LLC, and trust-owned STRs are permitted, subject to designation of a Responsible Party who can respond locally; (4) out-of-state owner STRs are permitted on the same terms; (5) there is no city-level cap on how many STRs a single operator or LLC may hold; (6) there is no cap on how many investment-property STRs may operate per neighborhood or block. The Section 17-68 city registration framework, the Flagler County registration, the DBPR license, and the tax obligations all apply uniformly to investment-property and primary-residence STRs. Generally-applicable zoning, building, fire, noise, parking, and nuisance ordinances - plus Section 17-68's own occupancy cap, parking rules, quiet hours, pet limits, and responsible-party requirements - apply to investment-property STRs on the same terms as any other residential use. The major caveat: HOA and condominium association rules in Palm Coast's master-planned communities (Grand Haven, Hammock Beach, Hammock Dunes, the various beachfront condo associations) frequently impose private restrictions that prohibit STR use entirely, require minimum rental periods of 30/60/90/180 days, require board approval of tenants, or impose additional fees. Those private restrictions are NOT preempted by FS § 509.032 (preemption applies to local governments, not private associations) and are enforceable by the association under the governing documents. Mortgage lender covenants in conventional residential mortgages may also impose owner-occupancy requirements as a loan-document matter.