Is Airbnb allowed in Orlando? City vs. county rules, explained

Short answer: it depends on exactly where the property is. Inside the City of Orlando, you cannot rent out an entire home for less than 30 days – only registered home sharing, with the host living on site, is allowed. In unincorporated Orange County, short stays in single-family homes are limited to specific zoning districts. In Osceola County (the Kissimmee area), the zoning has to allow short-term rentals. That is why most whole-home vacation rentals around Orlando sit in resort communities built for them.

We are Sara and Patrick. We have been hosting since 2018 and run about 30 vacation rentals – most of them around Orlando, plus Destin and Las Vegas. We have learned the hard way that you never research "Orlando" or "Florida". You research one exact address.

First: where is the address, really?

A mailing address that says "Orlando" or "Kissimmee" does not tell you which rules apply. Many of them are in unincorporated county areas, not inside city limits. The City of Orlando itself suggests this check: look up the address with the Orange County Property Appraiser and look at the field "Municipality". If it says "Unincorporated", Orange County's rules apply, not the city's. For properties south of Orlando, check whether they are in Osceola County – and whether they are inside a city such as Kissimmee, which has its own rules.

City of Orlando: home sharing only

In the City of Orlando, a short-term rental is a stay of less than 30 days. According to the city's fact sheet, an individual homeowner may not rent out the entire home for 1 to 29 days. What the city allows is owner-occupied home sharing:

• The host (owner, or a tenant with notarized owner permission) must live on site and be present when hosting guests.
• Only up to half of the home may be shared, and only one booking at a time.
• No more than four unrelated people per booking, and no more than two per room – whichever is lower.
• You need a city home sharing registration, and proof of registration must be linked in your online listings. The city lists an annual fee of $275 for the first year and $100 or $125 for later years.
• If the home is in a mandatory HOA, the city asks for an HOA approval letter.

Other uses, like bed and breakfasts or hotels, are separate categories with their own zoning and business tax receipt rules. If your plan is a classic whole-home vacation rental, the City of Orlando is usually the wrong place to buy.

Unincorporated Orange County

Outside city limits, Orange County's zoning decides. On its zoning page, the county says:

• Single-family transient rental – renting a single-family home for less than 30 days – is permitted only in the R-3 district.
• Short-term rental (stays of 179 days or less) is permitted only in certain commercial and industrial districts (C-1, C-2, C-3, I-1A, I-1/I-5, I-2/I-3, I-4) or in planned developments (PD) where it is expressly allowed.
• In all other zoning districts, both are prohibited.

So look up the exact zoning of the parcel, and for a planned development, check whether short-term rental is expressly permitted there. For lodging taxes, Airbnb lists the Orange County tourist development tax among the taxes it collects – other platforms may not.

Osceola County (Kissimmee area)

Many of the resort communities near the theme parks are in Osceola County. The county's licensing page lists three steps for a short-term rental:

• Verify that your zoning allows short-term rentals (the county points to its short-term rental overlay in the Land Development Code).
• Get a Florida DBPR vacation rental license.
• Register for a local business tax receipt with the Osceola County Tax Collector.

One important difference: the Osceola County Tax Collector states that the county is not contracted with Airbnb, Vrbo or other booking platforms. You (or your manager) collect and remit the tourist development tax yourself.

Know the rules before you buy

Module 8 covers zoning, permits, HOAs, occupancy taxes, LLCs and insurance for U.S. hosts.

See Module 8

Florida rules that apply everywhere

• Definition: Since July 1, 2025 (SB 606), Florida defines a vacation rental by stays of less than 30 consecutive days. Roughly, a condo, co-op or one- to four-family home that is rented to guests more than three times a year for such stays, or advertised that way, counts.
• State license: The DBPR Division of Hotels and Restaurants issues separate licenses for condo units and for houses. As of 2026, a single unit costs $170 a year, plus a $50 application fee for a new license.
• Limits on local bans: Florida law says local governments may not prohibit vacation rentals or regulate how long or how often they are rented – but local rules adopted on or before June 1, 2011 still apply, and cities and counties can still regulate things like zoning, registration, safety, parking and noise. That is how the local rules above can exist.
• Taxes: Guests pay 6% state sales tax plus a county surtax and the county tourist development tax (6% in Orange and Osceola County). Register with the Florida Department of Revenue and check which taxes each platform collects for your county.

HOA and condo rules

Florida's limits on local bans do not apply to HOAs and condo associations. Under Florida law, a condo amendment that bans or restricts rentals generally applies only to owners who agreed to it and to owners who buy after it takes effect. An HOA, on the other hand, may prohibit rentals of less than six months, or more than three times a year, and that applies to all owners. Many resort communities near the parks were planned for short-term rentals from day one – that is one reason many of our own units are in communities made for vacation rentals. In a quiet residential HOA where you are the only host, one neighbor's complaint can start a rule change.

What to check before you buy

• City or unincorporated county? Check the property appraiser's "Municipality" field.
• Exact zoning of the parcel – and whether short-term rental is allowed there.
• HOA or condo documents: rental restrictions, minimum stays, approval requirements and pending amendments.
• Licenses: DBPR vacation rental license, local business tax receipt, any local registration.
• Taxes: Department of Revenue registration and county tourist development tax – who collects what.
• Insurance and financing: a short-term rental policy, and a loan that allows short-term renting.

Want the full list? Our free Unfiltered Property Checklist covers the 25 things we check before we buy or rent out a property. And if you want to know what an Orlando unit can earn, see how our Orlando numbers compare with Destin.

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