STRWATCH.AI / FL / Kissimmee

Is a short-term rental legal in Kissimmee, FL?

HEAVILY REGULATED

In the City of Kissimmee, renting a residential dwelling for less than 30 days is prohibited in residential districts except inside the city's Short-Term Rental Overlay (STRO) district, and only where the use was approved through a planned unit development (SRPUD/MUPUD) or as a conditional use under City Code (Land Development Code) § 14-6-44 (or was grandfathered before the STRO regulations).

See permits and requirements

Sources checked8 open items listed below

City Code § 14-6-44.B: 'The rental of a dwelling for less than 30 days in a residential district is prohibited' except (1) the dwelling is in an SRPUD or MUPUD district within an STRO district and was approved for short-term rental/time-share use during PUD approval (or approved before STRO regulations and still in effect), or (2) the dwelling is approved as a conditional use in a residential district (per Table 4-1) within an STRO district (or grandfathered). Short-term rental is defined in Chapter 14-2 as 'a residential dwelling intended for rental for a period of less than 30 days,' so stays of 30+ days are not short-term rentals (min_stay_exempt_days=30). Table 4-1 (Schedule of Uses for Residential Standard Districts) shows 'Short-term rentals if the housing type is allowed' as a Conditional Use (C) in five residential districts (identified as including RB-1, RB-2, RC-1, RC-2; exact 5-district set flagged in needs_review), governed by § 14-6-44. Per § 14-4-7.C, STR/time-share developments are only allowed in the STRO district if listed as permitted/conditional in Table 4-1 and comply with § 14-6-44. There is no owner-occupancy/primary-residence requirement and no numeric guest cap in § 14-6-44 (the framework is overlay/development-based, not occupancy-based). The code prohibition speaks to renting 'a dwelling'; it does not expressly carve out hosted/single-room rentals, so hosted_allowed is marked conditional pending confirmation (rooming houses are separately listed as a conditional use in RC-1/RC-2). New-development standards (§ 14-6-44.C): min 2 acres and 12 units, collector/arterial access, 15-ft buffer, property owners' association, 80% owner acceptance for conversions, and city/county/state licenses must be obtained.

Permits and requirements

Florida DBPR Vacation Rental License (Dwelling or Condominium) $50 application fee + $10 Hospitality Education Program fee + license fee (sliding scale by unit count and full/half-year cycle; approx. $170/yr for a single unit) per Rule 61C-1.002, F.A.C.
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), Division of Hotels and Restaurants
Renewal: Annual; renewal date varies by county district (October–June)
Required for a 'vacation rental' — any unit or group of units in a condominium/cooperative or any single-family, two-family, three-family or four-family house rented to guests more than three times in a calendar year for periods of less than 30 days, or advertised/held out as regularly so rented (Fla. Stat. §§ 509.013, 509.242(1)(c)). License types: Dwelling vs. Condominium; Single (one unit), Group (units in one building/complex), or Collective (separate properties, capped at 75 units per district). Renting a single room within an owner-occupied home is generally not a 'vacation rental' subject to DBPR licensing. Exact license fee flagged in needs_review (varies by district/renewal cycle).
official source
Florida Sales & Use Tax Certificate of Registration (transient rentals) Free to register online (Form DR-1); $5 if registering by paper. Yields Certificate of Registration (Form DR-11)
Florida Department of Revenue (DOR)
Renewal: No periodic renewal fee; collector must file sales/transient-rental returns (monthly, or less frequently based on tax volume)
Anyone renting short-term living/sleeping accommodations (vacation houses, condominiums, etc.) for six months or less must register with the DOR, collect 6% state sales tax plus the Osceola 1.5% discretionary sales surtax, and remit via Form DR-15. Registration cost ($5 paper vs. free online) flagged in needs_review as not re-verified against a current DOR fee page in this pass.
official source
Osceola County Tourist Development Tax account & remittance Cost not verified
Osceola County Tax Collector (Office of the Tax Collector)
Renewal: File and remit by the 20th of the month following the rental period; monthly filing (quarterly/annual may be permitted based on volume)
The person receiving the rent must register with, collect, and remit the 6% Osceola Tourist Development Tax directly to the Osceola County Tax Collector for any rental of less than 180 days. Osceola County is NOT contracted with Airbnb, Vrbo, Evolve or similar platforms, so the host/agent — not the platform — is responsible for collecting and remitting the TDT. Exact filing-frequency thresholds flagged in needs_review.
official source
City of Kissimmee Conditional Use / PUD approval for short-term rental Cost not verified
City of Kissimmee Development Services Department (Planning; Development Review Committee / Planning Advisory Board)
A short-term rental in a residential district is only lawful if approved through the planned-unit-development process (SRPUD/MUPUD within an STRO district) or as a conditional use in a residential district within an STRO district, per § 14-6-44.B and Table 4-1 (§ 14-4). New STR developments must meet § 14-6-44.C standards (2 acres/12 units, collector-arterial access, buffer, POA, 80% conversion acceptance). Application/permit fees are set by a separate city fee schedule/resolution and were not verified against an official source — cost is null (see needs_review).
official source
City of Kissimmee Local Business Tax Receipt (short-term rental) Cost not verified
City of Kissimmee (Business Tax) / and Osceola County local business tax where applicable
§ 14-6-44.C.8 requires that 'applicable city, county, and state licenses shall be obtained' for short-term rental/time-share dwellings, which includes a local business tax receipt for operating the business, and a fire/life-safety inspection is commonly required before issuance. The specific BTR fee is set by the city's local business tax schedule and was not verified against an official source — cost null (see needs_review). The requirement that a room/dwelling meet the Florida Building Code and Florida Fire Prevention Code is the safety area Fla. Stat. § 509.032(7) leaves to local government.
official source

The full picture

In the City of Kissimmee, renting a residential dwelling for less than 30 days is prohibited in residential districts except inside the city's Short-Term Rental Overlay (STRO) district, and only where the use was approved through a planned unit development (SRPUD/MUPUD) or as a conditional use under City Code (Land Development Code) § 14-6-44 (or was grandfathered before the STRO regulations). A scattered single-family home in an ordinary Kissimmee neighborhood cannot legally operate as a short-term rental. Table 4-1 lists short-term rentals as a conditional use in five higher-density residential districts (including RB-1, RB-2, RC-1 and RC-2), but only when the parcel also carries the STRO overlay classification. New STR/time-share developments must meet strict standards under § 14-6-44.C: minimum two acres and 12 dwelling units, direct collector/arterial access, a 15-foot vegetated or walled buffer, a mandatory property owners' association, and 80% owner acceptance for conversions. Florida's preemption statute (Fla. Stat. § 509.032(7)(b)) bars the city from prohibiting vacation rentals outright or regulating their duration/frequency, but only for rules adopted after June 1, 2011; Kissimmee's overlay/PUD framework operates within that constraint. Statewide, a host must hold a Florida DBPR vacation rental license (transient public lodging establishment) and register with the Florida Department of Revenue. Guests pay roughly 13.5% in taxes: 6% Florida state sales tax + 1.5% Osceola County discretionary sales surtax (both to the DOR) + 6% Osceola County Tourist Development Tax (remitted directly to the Osceola County Tax Collector, which does NOT contract with Airbnb/Vrbo). The 2024 statewide preemption bill (CS/SB 280) was vetoed by Gov. DeSantis in June 2024 and no 2025 or 2026 replacement has become law, so the pre-existing framework governs.

Taxes on guests & hosts

TaxRateApplies toPlatform collectsOfficial source
Florida State Sales Tax (transient/short-term rentals) 6% Total rental charge for living/sleeping accommodations rented for six months or less (includes mandatory cleaning/resort fees) Not verified source
Osceola County Discretionary Sales Surtax 1.5% (1% eff. 9/1/1990 exp. 12/31/2045 + 0.5% eff. 1/1/2017 exp. 12/31/2036) Same base as state sales tax on transient rentals; the $5,000 single-sale cap that applies to tangible personal property does not limit surtax on transient rentals. Reported/remitted to the Florida DOR with state sales tax on Form DR-15 Not verified source
Osceola County Tourist Development Tax (TDT) 6% Total rental amount for any short-term rental of less than 180 days (hotels, condos, single-family homes, RVs, boats), including mandatory cleaning/resort/equipment fees No source

Enforcement

PenaltiesOperating a short-term rental in a residential district outside the STRO overlay, or without the required PUD/conditional-use approval and licenses, is a zoning/land-development-code violation enforced by City of Kissimmee Code Enforcement (with potential injunctive relief and Florida code-enforcement-board fines). Specific per-day fine amounts for Kissimmee were not verified against an official source in this pass — see needs_review.
Platform liabilityNo city-level platform delisting or license-display mandate was found; Florida law (Fla. Stat. § 509.032(7)(b)) preempts cities from prohibiting vacation rentals or regulating duration/frequency for rules adopted after June 1, 2011. Osceola County does not contract with Airbnb/Vrbo/Evolve for Tourist Development Tax, so those platforms do not collect or remit the county TDT — the host/agent must.
NotesThe overlay/PUD framework is the city's principal control: it channels short-term rentals into the STRO district (historically the W192 / Vine Street tourist corridor) and the large gated STR/time-share communities there, while keeping <30-day rentals out of standard single-family neighborhoods. Enforcement fine schedules and any dedicated STR code-enforcement program should be confirmed with the city.

What we could not verify (8)

  • Exact set of the five residential zoning districts where Table 4-1 lists short-term rentals as a conditional use — confirmed to include RB-1, RB-2, RC-1, RC-2; the fifth (likely RA-4) should be confirmed from the aligned Table 4-1 grid on municode.
  • Whether hosted / single-room rentals in an owner-occupied home are permitted — § 14-6-44.B prohibits renting 'a dwelling' for <30 days in residential districts without carving out room rentals; rooming houses are separately a conditional use in RC-1/RC-2. City interpretation not verified.
  • City of Kissimmee Conditional Use Permit application/hearing fee — set by a separate fee schedule/resolution, not verified against an official source (cost left null).
  • City of Kissimmee (and any Osceola County) Local Business Tax Receipt fee for short-term rentals and whether a fire/life-safety inspection is mandated before issuance — not verified against an official source (cost left null).
  • Kissimmee code-enforcement penalty/fine schedule for STR/zoning violations — specific per-day fine amounts not verified against an official source.
  • Exact Florida DBPR vacation rental license fee for a single dwelling/condo unit — sliding scale under Rule 61C-1.002 varies by county district and full/half-year renewal cycle; only the $50 application + $10 hospitality-education components and an approx. $170/yr single-unit figure were seen on the DBPR guide.
  • Florida DOR sales-tax registration fee ($5 paper vs. free online) not re-verified against a current DOR fee page in this pass.
  • Whether Airbnb/Vrbo collect Florida state 6% sales tax + 1.5% surtax on Kissimmee bookings — marked null; the county TDT is confirmed NOT platform-collected, but platform collection of the state-administered taxes was not confirmed against an official DOR source.

Sources

A markdown mirror of this page lives at /kissimmee-fl.md for AI tools and researchers.

STRWatch publishes educational information about short-term rental regulation, checked against the official sources linked above as of the date shown. It is not legal advice, and rules change — a city can move between the times we check it. For decisions with money at stake, confirm with the authority linked above or a local attorney.