Marathon, FL short-term rental limits
Marathon is the Florida Keys in miniature: the city does not ask how you rent, it fixes how long. Renting any private residence for less than seven nights is prohibited outright, and the vacation rental property licence exists for exactly one band — not less than seven nights and not more than twenty-eight. Below seven you are unlicensable, above twenty-eight you are outside the regime. The city backs that with a fine of up to $500 a day, per unit, per violation, a public licence lookup and a mandatory training course for owners and agents.[6]
Every rule below links to the official source it comes from, verified September 20, 2026.
Can you rent short term in Marathon?
Limited number allowed
What you apply for: Vacation Rental Property License
- Seasonal homes
- 1,522
- Housing units
- 6,492
- Residents
- 9,914
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 ACS 5-year estimates
- City ruleCapped
- City feeNone published
- Tax on each stay12.5%
- Seasonal homes234 per 1,000
Marathon vacation rental license
Marathon requires a vacation rental property licence for any legally existing dwelling unit rented for not less than seven nights and not more than twenty-eight nights, and prohibits renting a private residence for less than seven nights at all. There is also a separate vacation rental agent licence for the people who manage those properties. Owners, agents and local contacts have to complete the city's vacation rental training course before operating, and the city publishes a searchable database in which anyone can check whether a given address holds a licence. Enforcement is deliberately visible: a transient rental fraud hotline takes anonymous reports, and any violation of the vacation rental article, by an owner, tenant, agent, broker or representative, is punishable by a fine of up to $500 a day, per unit, per violation.[6]
What Marathon asks of you
Renting any private residence for a period of less than seven nights is prohibited in Marathon.[6]
The vacation rental property licence covers a legally existing dwelling unit rented for not less than seven nights and not more than twenty-eight nights.[6]
Any violation of the vacation rental article, by an owner, tenant, agent, broker or other representative, is punishable by a fine of up to $500 a day, per unit, per violation.[6]
The city issues a separate vacation rental agent licence alongside the property licence.[8]
Owners, agents and local contacts must complete the city's vacation rental training course before operating a rental.[7]
Anyone can search an address in the city's database to confirm whether it holds a vacation rental licence, and a transient rental fraud hotline takes anonymous reports.[7]
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 Marathon
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 |
| Monroe County discretionary sales surtax[5] | 1.5% | The state revenue department |
| Monroe County Tourist Development Tax[4] | 5% | The county |
| Total on a taxable stay | 12.5% |
Monroe carries the highest surtax of any county in this silo, a point and a half, which is why a Keys stay lands at 12.5% while Collier next door sits at 11%.[5]
How short-term rental taxes work for US hostsWhat the census counts
How much of Marathon is already a second home
The Census Bureau counts 1,522 of Marathon's 6,492 homes as vacant for seasonal, recreational or occasional use — 234 out of every 1,000. That ranks Marathon 23rd of the 33 Florida cities on this site for the share of its housing stock kept for part-year use.
- Rank in the state
- 23rd of 33
- Share of housing
- 234 per 1,000
- Median home value
- $725,800
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 ACS 5-year estimates, tables B25004, B25001, B01003 and B25077.
Nearby and comparable
Where Marathon sits among its neighbors
Key West, FL
Capped
2,161 seasonal homes, 148 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in Key WestSt. Augustine Beach, FL
Capped
1,377 seasonal homes, 302 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in St. Augustine BeachKey Biscayne, FL
Registration required
1,736 seasonal homes, 238 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in Key BiscayneCape Canaveral, FL
Registration required
2,125 seasonal homes, 230 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in Cape CanaveralFAQ
Marathon short-term rental questions
Can I take a three-night booking in Marathon?
Do I have to take a course before renting?
How do I check whether a Marathon property is licensed?
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
- Ordinance 2010-14, vacation rentals, City of Marathon, read on September 20, 2026
- Vacation Rentals, Code Compliance, City of Marathon, read on September 20, 2026
- Licenses, Planning Department, City of Marathon, 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.