Short Term Vacation Rentals

Ordinance

The Short Term Vacation Rental Ordinance is established to provide for registration, basic health, safety, parking, and solid waste requirements to help mitigate the effects of short term vacation rentals in an attempt to make them safer, more compatible with existing neighborhood regulations and provide accountability for their proper operation. The County desires to encourage short term vacation rentals that are safe, fit in with the character of the neighborhood, provide positive impacts for tourism, increase property values, and achieve greater neighborhood compatibility. The County seeks to balance respect for private property rights and incompatibility concerns between investors/short term vacation rentals and families/single family residences in established residential neighborhoods through the use of reasonable development standards.

Registration Process

Requirements

  • Complete Application (each unit or portion thereof must be registered separately)
  • Sample Rental/Lease Agreement that shall include:
    • Maximum Occupancy
    • Maximum number of vehicles allowed
    • Name and 24 hour contact information of the owner, property manager and a secondary contact person
    • Acknowledgement and agreement by the tenant/lessee/guest of the right of the County to reasonably inspect.
  • Local Business Tax Receipt. St. Johns County Tax Collector
  • Copy of Florida Dept. of Business and Professional Regulation License as a Transient Public Lodging Establishment.Hotels and Restaurants – Guide to Vacation Rentals and Timeshare Projects – MyFloridaLicense.com
  • Copy of Florida Dept. of Revenue Certificate of Sales and Use Tax. If renting through a third party such as VRBO, Airbnb, etc., you must submit a statement of third party tax collection and remittance by your host provider. Florida Dept. of Revenue – Florida Sales and Use Tax – FloridaRevenue.com
  • Required Registration fee
  • Executed affidavit (Located on the first page of the Registration Application)

Each dwelling unit, or portion thereof, used as a short term vacation rental shall be registered with the County and renewed every 12 months.

Exemptions/Applicability

All Short-Term Vacation Rentals in St. Johns County shall be subject to the regulations set forth herein, with the exception of those located:

  • In the unincorporated areas of St. Johns County located West of the Intracoastal Waterway;
  • In a Single-Family Dwelling occupied on a full-time basis by the owner as an on-premises, permanent resident and that has been declared and continues to be declared as homestead by the Property Appraiser;
  • In a Two-Family Dwelling, where both Dwellings are under common ownership and one of the Dwellings (a) is occupied on a full-time basis by the owner of the Dwellings as an on-premises, permanent resident and (b) has been declared and continues to be declared as homestead by the Property Appraiser; or
  • In a Multi-Family Dwelling governed by or subject to a property owners association, condominium owners association, or homeowners association, or with onsite property management.

Complaints

If you have a complaint regarding short term vacation rental properties, please call the Complaint Hotline at (904) 320-2442 or email shorttermrentals@sjcfl.us.