Bonita Springs, FL short-term rental registration
Bonita Springs does not separate holiday lets from ordinary tenancies. Its rental permit covers any non-owner-occupied single-family home, duplex or small multi-family building, whether the let is transient — under six months — or a year-long lease, and the owner has to hold it before handing over the keys. What makes the regime bite is not the $100 fee but the inspection behind it: a code enforcement officer walks the property against the property maintenance code, with the owner present, and every violation has to be cleared before the permit is issued.[6]
Every rule below links to the official source it comes from, verified September 20, 2026.
Can you rent short term in Bonita Springs?
Register before you list
What you apply for: City of Bonita Springs rental permit
- Seasonal homes
- 11,877
- Housing units
- 39,895
- Residents
- 55,904
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 ACS 5-year estimates
- City ruleRegistration required
- City fee$100
- Tax on each stay11.5%
- Seasonal homes298 per 1,000
Bonita Springs rental permit
Bonita Springs requires a rental permit from the city before any non-owner-occupied single-family, duplex or multi-family dwelling of six units or fewer is leased, and the requirement applies to transient rentals of under six months exactly as it does to long-term leases. The permit fee is $100 per unit. Before it is issued, a code enforcement officer inspects the property against the International Property Maintenance Code, which the city has adopted to set minimum standards for living in residential structures; the owner or a designee has to be present, and any violation of that code or of a city ordinance must be corrected first. Once granted, the permit is valid for three years from the date the application was submitted, which makes it one of the longest-lived permits on this coast. Properties of more than six dwelling units regulated under the Florida condominium or homeowners association statutes fall outside the requirement. Refusing or revoking the permit stops the owner renting the unit at all.[6]
What Bonita Springs asks of you
Every owner of a non-owner-occupied single-family, duplex or multi-family dwelling must obtain a rental permit from the city before leasing the unit, whether the let is transient — under six months — or long term.[6]
The permit fee is $100 per unit, submitted with the completed application.[6]
A code enforcement officer inspects the property against the International Property Maintenance Code, which the city adopted to set minimum residential standards. The owner or a designee must be present.[6]
Any violation of a city ordinance or of the property maintenance code has to be corrected before the permit is issued.[6]
Once issued the permit is valid for three years, running from the date the application was submitted.[6]
Properties of more than six dwelling units regulated under the Florida condominium or homeowners association statutes are outside the requirement. Revocation or refusal of a permit stops the owner renting.[6]
What Florida asks wherever you host
These rules apply at this address whatever the city decides.
Florida licenses vacation rentals itself. A house, townhouse or unit in a building of four units or fewer is licensed as a dwelling, a unit in a condominium or cooperative as a condominium, and the licence costs $150 plus $10 per rental unit plus a $10 hospitality education fee.[2]
A city cannot ban vacation rentals, nor regulate how long or how often you rent, unless its ordinance was already on the books on June 1, 2011. Ordinances adopted before that date survive untouched, which is why two neighbouring Florida towns can sit at opposite ends of the scale.[1]
State sales tax is due on every rental of six months or less. A bona fide written lease for more than six months of continuous residence is exempt, and so is the seventh month onward once a guest has stayed and paid for six.[3]
What a guest pays on top of your nightly rate in Bonita Springs
Each layer is set by a different authority, and not all of them are collected by the platform.
| Layer | Rate | Remitted to |
|---|---|---|
| Florida state sales tax[3] | 6% | The state revenue department |
| Lee County discretionary sales surtax[5] | 0.5% | The state revenue department |
| Lee County Tourist Development Tax[4] | 5% | The county |
| Total on a taxable stay | 11.5% |
Lee County's stack totals 11.5%, against 13% on the Manatee and Pinellas beaches: a half-point surtax and a 5% tourist development tax the county collects itself.[5]
How short-term rental taxes work for US hostsWhat the census counts
How much of Bonita Springs is already a second home
The Census Bureau counts 11,877 of Bonita Springs's 39,895 homes as vacant for seasonal, recreational or occasional use — 298 out of every 1,000. That ranks Bonita Springs 15th of the 33 Florida cities on this site for the share of its housing stock kept for part-year use.
- Rank in the state
- 15th of 33
- Share of housing
- 298 per 1,000
- Median home value
- $497,100
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 ACS 5-year estimates, tables B25004, B25001, B01003 and B25077.
Nearby and comparable
Where Bonita Springs sits among its neighbors
Fort Myers Beach, FL
Registration required
4,753 seasonal homes, 481 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in Fort Myers BeachHolmes Beach, FL
Registration required
1,367 seasonal homes, 309 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in Holmes BeachSt. Pete Beach, FL
Registration required
2,406 seasonal homes, 286 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in St. Pete BeachAnna Maria, FL
Registration required
517 seasonal homes, 344 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in Anna MariaFAQ
Bonita Springs short-term rental questions
Does a Bonita Springs permit expire every year?
Does the permit apply to long-term tenants too?
What is inspected before the permit is issued?
Sources
- Florida Statutes § 509.032(7), Duties — preemption of vacation rental regulation, The Florida Legislature, read on September 20, 2026
- Guide to Vacation Rentals and Timeshare Projects, Division of Hotels and Restaurants, Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, read on September 20, 2026
- Sales and Use Tax on Rental of Living or Sleeping Accommodations (GT-800034, R. 10/25), Florida Department of Revenue, read on September 20, 2026
- Local Option Transient Rental Tax Rates (DR-15TDT, R. 03/25), Florida Department of Revenue, read on September 20, 2026
- Discretionary Sales Surtax Information for Calendar Year 2026 (DR-15DSS), Florida Department of Revenue, read on September 20, 2026
- Rental Permits, Neighborhood Services, City of Bonita Springs, read on September 20, 2026
This page is not legal advice. It summarizes the official sources listed on this page as they read on September 20, 2026. Rules can change after that date, so check with the issuing office before you apply or publish a listing.
Before you list
Free tools for new hosts
Short-term rental agreement generator
Parties, dates, rent, deposit checked against your state's cap, and the house rules clauses you enforce. A signed-ready PDF for direct and Vrbo bookings.
Airbnb house rules
Generate a complete PDF house rules document for your property: rules, schedule, amenities, emergency contacts.
Rental arbitrage calculator
Rent, deposit, furnishing, nightly rate and occupancy. You get monthly cash flow, the occupancy you break even at, and how long the setup takes to pay back.
Check-in instructions
The message a guest reads before getting in: access, keys, WiFi, parking, contact. English or bilingual output.