Fort Myers Beach, FL short-term rental registration
Fort Myers Beach prices its registration by the size of the house, which is unusual in Florida and worth doing the arithmetic on before you buy. The base fee is $300, plus $100 for every bedroom in the unit, non-refundable, renewed each year. A four-bedroom house therefore costs $700 a year to keep registered. Each unit on a property registers separately, the Fire Control District inspects annually, and the registration number has to appear on the home page of every advertisement, not buried in the listing body.[6]
Every rule below links to the official source it comes from, verified September 20, 2026.
Can you rent short term in Fort Myers Beach?
Register before you list
What you apply for: Short-term rental registration
- Seasonal homes
- 4,753
- Housing units
- 9,886
- Residents
- 5,513
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 ACS 5-year estimates
- City ruleRegistration required
- City fee$300
- Tax on each stay11.5%
- Seasonal homes481 per 1,000
Fort Myers Beach short-term rental registration
Fort Myers Beach requires every rental property in the town to be registered, a process formalised by Ordinance 18-01 on May 7, 2018, and it prices the registration by the size of the house. The fee is $300 plus $100 for every bedroom in the unit, non-refundable, renewed annually, so a four-bedroom house costs $700 a year to keep registered. Each unit available for rent on a single property registers separately. The town also requires an annual inspection by the Fort Myers Beach Fire Control District, receipts showing Florida sales tax has been paid on each dwelling unit, and a local telephone number answered twenty-four hours a day for complaints. The registration number must appear on all advertising, including yard signs and internet listings, and specifically on the home page of the advertisement.[6]
What Fort Myers Beach asks of you
Every rental property on Fort Myers Beach must be registered with the town, a process formalised by Ordinance 18-01 on May 7, 2018.[6]
The fee is $300 plus $100 per bedroom per dwelling unit, non-refundable, and the registration is renewed annually.[6]
Each unit available for short-term rental on a single property registers separately.[6]
The town requires an annual inspection by the Fort Myers Beach Fire Control District, and receipts showing the Florida sales tax has been paid on each dwelling unit.[6]
A local telephone number answered twenty-four hours a day must be on file for each unit, to take complaints.[6]
The registration number goes on all advertising, including yard signs and internet listings, and on the home page of the advertisement itself.[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 Fort Myers Beach
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 runs the lowest surtax of the Gulf coast at 0.5%, in force until the end of 2028, which is why the town's own paperwork refers to a 6.5% sales tax before the tourist development tax is added.[5]
How short-term rental taxes work for US hostsWhat the census counts
How much of Fort Myers Beach is already a second home
The Census Bureau counts 4,753 of Fort Myers Beach's 9,886 homes as vacant for seasonal, recreational or occasional use — 481 out of every 1,000. That ranks Fort Myers Beach 5th of the 33 Florida cities on this site for the share of its housing stock kept for part-year use.
- Rank in the state
- 5th of 33
- Share of housing
- 481 per 1,000
- Median home value
- $642,400
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 ACS 5-year estimates, tables B25004, B25001, B01003 and B25077.
Nearby and comparable
Where Fort Myers Beach sits among its neighbors
Bonita Springs, FL
Registration required
11,877 seasonal homes, 298 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in Bonita SpringsLauderdale-by-the-Sea, FL
Registration required
3,163 seasonal homes, 458 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in Lauderdale-by-the-SeaBradenton Beach, FL
Registration required
776 seasonal homes, 416 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in Bradenton BeachPanama City Beach, FL
Registration required
11,177 seasonal homes, 527 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in Panama City BeachFAQ
Fort Myers Beach short-term rental questions
How much does it cost to register a four-bedroom rental in Fort Myers Beach?
Where exactly does the registration number have to appear?
Who inspects a Fort Myers Beach rental?
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
- Short Term Rentals, Town of Fort Myers Beach, 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.