St. Johns County, FL Short-Term Rentals: Repeat Violator Strikes (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- LDC § 2.02.04.B.19.g
- Strike threshold
- 3 violations within 180 days
- First enforcement target
- Tenant, lessee, guest or occupant
- After 3 strikes
- Owner/operator becomes liable
- Cure period
- 7 days, extendable for good cause
- Penalty
- Civil penalty set by BCC resolution
- Other remedies
- Injunctive relief, liens, civil/criminal penalties
Summary
St. Johns County shifts code enforcement from tenants to owners after repeat violations at a Short Term Vacation Rental. Land Development Code Section 2.02.04.B.19.g gives occupants a seven-day cure period on any first violation, but three violations by tenants, lessees, guests or occupants of the same rental within 180 days lets the county pursue the owner or operator directly, on top of a civil penalty set by the Board of County Commissioners.
Noncompliance with any provision of this Section 2.02.04.B.19 shall constitute a violation this Code and may be enforced as provided in Section 10.05.01; provided, however, that the time period for corrective action for violations under this section shall be no more than seven (7) days, which such time period may be extended by the County Administrator only for good cause, and that the applicable civil penalty shall be in the amount established by the Board of County Commissioners by resolution. In the event of a violation of this Section by a tenant, lessee, guest, or occupant of a Short Term Vacation Rental, the County shall first pursue enforcement against said tenant, lessee, guest, or occupant. In the event of three (3) violations of this Section by tenants, lessees, guest, or occupants of the same Short Term Vacation Rental within a one hundred-eighty (180) day period, the County may pursue enforcement against the owner or operator of the Short Term Vacation Rental; provided, however, that the County may ... at any time pursue enforcement against an owner or operator for a violation by the owner or operator.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: the cited page had not changed since it was quoted.
Full Breakdown
g of the St. Johns County Land Development Code (Ord. (5) and the required postings in subsection f. 01, administered by the County Administrator's office in Growth Management. The first violation goes against the person who actually broke the rule: the tenant, lessee, guest or occupant, not the property owner. That person gets no more than seven days to correct the violation, a period the County Administrator can extend only for good cause, and faces a civil penalty in an amount the Board of County Commissioners sets by resolution rather than a fixed dollar figure written into the code.
The rule changes once a pattern forms. If tenants, lessees, guests or occupants of the same Short Term Vacation Rental rack up three violations within a single 180-day window, the county may then pursue enforcement directly against the owner or operator of the rental, shifting liability from the transient occupant to the person who profits from renting the unit. The county is never required to wait for three strikes before going after an owner, however: it can pursue the owner or operator at any time for a violation the owner or operator personally committed. None of this precludes the county from also seeking injunctive relief, liens, or other civil and criminal penalties available under law or equity.
Violations & Fines
A single violation by an occupant costs that occupant a civil penalty set by Board of County Commissioners resolution and gives them up to seven days to fix the problem. Three violations by occupants of the same rental within 180 days shift enforcement to the owner or operator, who can then be penalized directly, and the county may still pursue injunctive relief, liens, or other civil and criminal remedies under Section 10.05.01.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many strikes before St. Johns County goes after an STR owner instead of the guest?
Can the county go after an STR owner before three violations happen?
How much is the penalty once enforcement shifts to the owner?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in St. Johns County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare St. Johns County to another location·View the Florida short-term rentals overview
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