City of Miami Short-Term Rental Rules: An Owner's Guide

Inside the City of Miami, a short-term rental is legally classified as a lodging use. It is not an automatic property right, and you cannot simply create a profile on Airbnb and start welcoming guests. Operating legally inside city limits takes several separate municipal, county, and state approvals, in a specific order, before you open your doors.

The City's own procedures page, How to Convert to a Short-Term Rental/Lodging, sets out what is required. This guide follows it as of October 2026. Miami Beach and unincorporated Miami-Dade County are separate jurisdictions with their own rules, so confirm which one your address sits in before using anything below.

It covers the zoning check you do first, how condo associations fit into the application, and which work a manager can take on while the approvals stay yours.

Step 1: Confirm your property's zoning before spending anything (T3 and T4-R single-family homes and duplexes are not eligible)

Short-term rentals are treated as a lodging use. The City states that single-family homes and duplexes in T3 and T4-R transect zones are not eligible for short-term rental or lodging use, citing City of Miami v. Airbnb.

Active listings nearby tell you nothing about what is allowed. Confirm your property's zone, and that it is not in a restricted overlay or Special Area Project, using the City's GIS zoning map or by asking the Zoning Department. The City says a zoning verification letter is recommended but not required.

If the map puts a single-family home or duplex in T3 or T4-R, the City's page is clear that it is not eligible for lodging use.

Step 2: If it is a condo, get the association involved (STR/Lodging Evaluation Form, Operational Management Plan, and the 25% transient threshold that triggers R-1 hotel standards)

For an existing building, the City's STR/Lodging Evaluation Form must be signed by the applicant and certified by the condo or homeowners association, unaltered. The Operational Management Plan uses the City's template and is also signed by the association.

The City's page adds a building-wide rule: if more than 25 percent of a building's units are transient, the whole building must meet R-1 hotel standards. It cites Florida Statute 509.242 and a Florida Building Code interpretation for this.

That rule is why the association's sign-off matters to the whole building, not only to your unit. Talk to the association before you spend money on the unit.

Step 3: Complete the Short-Term Rental/Lodging Evaluation Form and Operational Management Plan, and pull your building permit documents

The City lists the order for an existing building: complete the evaluation form, confirm zoning and get copies of your current Certificate of Occupancy and Certificate of Use, apply for a building permit in iBuild, then upload the documents to ProjectDox.

The upload set the City names is the data sheet, the Operational Management Plan on the City template, the evaluation form, your current Certificate of Use and Certificate of Occupancy, and a floor plan showing the registration desk or lobby. The owner is responsible for that plan being accurate.

The City's page also says an existing building without an active Certificate of Use cannot convert until the property is legalized through the Building Department. Plan review then runs through several departments, including Fire, and inspections are scheduled once the permit is issued.

Step 4: Secure the Certificate of Occupancy and the State of Florida DBPR Lodging License

After inspections, the Building Department issues a new Certificate of Occupancy.

Next comes the State of Florida lodging license from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). The City defines transient as a unit rented more than three times a year for stays under 30 days.

DBPR runs its own application and renewal rules, separate from the City. The City's Zoning Department needs a copy of your state license before it can issue your new Certificate of Use.

Step 5: Apply for the Certificate of Use for Lodging Units and the Business Tax Receipt, and check for Miami-Dade County DERM approvals

With the state license in hand, apply to the Zoning Department for a new Certificate of Use for Lodging Units.

The City also lists any applicable Miami-Dade County approvals from the Department of Environmental Resources Management (DERM) among the approvals needed before operating. Check with the County whether any apply to your property.

Then obtain a Business Tax Receipt, handled by the City's Code Compliance BTR office. Tax registration for nightly bookings is a separate obligation from these approvals; confirm your filing accounts with the Florida Department of Revenue and Miami-Dade County.

Step 6: Keep the approvals current (annual Certificate of Use renewal) and decide what to hand to a manager

The approvals need upkeep. The City says to renew the Certificate of Use every year, and that not renewing results in revocation of your authorization to operate. The Business Tax Receipt also renews every year, and DBPR has its own renewal rules. Keep the Operational Management Plan and 24-hour contact information current, keep documents onsite, expect possible unannounced inspections by Code Enforcement or Fire Prevention, and follow City Code Section 31-94 on anti-human-trafficking standards.

A full-service manager can take on the daily work: guest communication, pricing, turnovers and maintenance coordination, with reporting and approvals that keep the owner informed.

The approvals themselves stay with the owner. The applications, the association sign-offs and the renewals are yours to keep current, whoever runs the guest side.

What to do next: a pre-launch checklist and where owners get stuck

Before listing your first calendar dates, check your files against this pre-launch checklist:

• Confirm your zone, and that a single-family home or duplex is not in T3 or T4-R.

• Get the evaluation form and Operational Management Plan signed by your association.

• Confirm the building has an active Certificate of Use, then apply for the building permit in iBuild.

• Obtain the new Certificate of Occupancy and the State DBPR lodging license.

• Check whether any Miami-Dade County DERM approvals apply.

• Obtain the new Certificate of Use for Lodging Units.

• Obtain the City Business Tax Receipt.

• Confirm your tax filing accounts with the Florida Department of Revenue and Miami-Dade County.

Questions go to the City at shorttermrental@miamigov.com or (305) 416-1100.

Settle zoning and the association sign-off first, since both are decided before any money goes into the unit.

Conclusion

The City treats a short-term rental as lodging, so the work runs through zoning, building, state licensing and annual renewals, in the order on the City's page.

Once the approvals are in place, the daily running of the property is a separate decision: run it yourself, or hand guest communication, pricing, turnovers and maintenance coordination to a full-service manager while you keep the approvals current.