New Orlando short-term rental rules start July 1

Starting July 1, homeowners in Orlando can legally offer short-term rentals to guests in their homes.

City commissioners approved the ordinance in February, which allows homeowners to rent out part of their home — as long as the homeowner stays on site while guests are present. The new law limits short-term rental hosts to one booking at a time, a maximum of two people per room, and no more than four non-family members in a short-term rental at one time.

While Orlando short-term rental hosts are not allowed to rent out their entire home, owners who occupy duplexes can rent out the entire second unit if it’s of equal or lesser size and located on the same development site. The rules will not outweigh existing neighborhood or homeowner association rules against short-term rentals.

The new law also requires short-term rental operators to register with the city and pay a fee of $275 for the first year and $125 annually after that.

Orlando short-term rental hosts are also required to collect lodging taxes from their guests. These taxes include a 6 percent state transient rental tax and 0.5 percent county discretionary sales surtax that are collected by the state, as well as a 6 percent Tourist Development Tax that is collected by Orange County.

Airbnb will collect these lodging taxes automatically for Orlando hosts who use Airbnb for their bookings. However, short-term operators who use other short-term rental platforms, such as HomeAway or VRBO, must collect and remit the taxes themselves. The MyLodgeTax service can take care of lodging tax registration, collection, and remittance on behalf of short-term rental operators for all the tax jurisdictions that cover Orlando.

While Orlando is introducing short-term rentals, Miami Beach, another Florida tourism hot spot, is looking at tightening its rules.

Currently, short-term rentals are mostly illegal in residential neighborhoods in Miami Beach and are only allowed in certain zones, such as South Beach. However, despite fines for illegal short-term rentals of $20,000 and more, short-term rentals continue to proliferate.

Mayor Dan Gelber is proposing an amendment to the short-term rental law that would require short-term rental operators to display the rental’s official city business license number with any listing or advertisement. Those who fail to do so would be presumed to be operating illegally.

The proposal is expected to go before the Miami Beach Commission in July.