Polk County cannot restrict vacation rentals to owner-occupied or primary residences. FS 509.032(7)(b) bars local laws that prohibit vacation rentals or regulate their frequency or duration, so non-owner-occupied STRs are allowed.
A primary-residence-only mandate would effectively prohibit or restrict the frequency of vacation rentals, which FS 509.032(7)(b) forbids for any rule adopted after June 1, 2011. Polk County therefore imposes no owner-occupancy requirement; investors may operate whole-home short-term rentals in the unincorporated area subject only to state DBPR licensing and county tax obligations. Only a pre-2011 grandfathered local rule could impose such a limit, and Polk has none of record.
No county penalty applies—there is no primary-residence rule to violate; operators remain subject to state licensing and county tax enforcement.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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