City Watch
Short-term rental rules in Fernandina Beach, FL
How Fernandina Beach regulates short-term rentals: the rules that apply, their sources, and pending changes.
Rules here limit which homes may operate as short-term rentals, how many, where, or for how many nights a year.
- Pre-2011 zoning exclusion: STRs (resort rentals) permitted only in R-3 High Density Residential; excluded from R-1/R-2 residential districts (Ord. 2000-28, eff. 2000-10-03)
- Grandfathered legal non-conforming status only for R-1/R-2 uses existing before 2000-10-03 and continuously permitted (no >180-day lapse)
- Resort Rental Dwelling Permit (RRDP) required + advertised permit number mandatory
- Annual life/safety inspection required
- 24/7 local contact person required
- State DBPR public lodging license + FL sales tax + Nassau County tourist development tax + city BTR (general/process)
Based on: Fernandina Beach Code of Ordinances § 26-101, Resort Rental Dwelling Permits (permit process adopted via Ord. 2011-23)
Summary of the rule
Resort (short-term) rentals permitted only in R-3 High Density Residential; not allowed in R-1/R-2 or other residential districts (other zones require 30-day minimum stay = long-term)
View the ordinance source ↗✓ Verified
Last reviewed Sep 9, 2026 · Sources · Report an error
Pending legislation
Monitoring Fernandina Beach · system last checked Nov 9, 2026
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City Watch tracks changes from public sources — council agendas, state bills, local news — not a complete legal compendium.
A city permit is not the whole picture — HOA, condominium, deed, or lease rules may be stricter.
City Watch provides good-faith summaries of publicly available information as of the review date shown. Rules, enforcement, and permit availability can change, and summaries may contain errors or omissions. Ratings describe the general regulatory environment; they do not establish whether a particular property or stay is permitted. This is general information, not legal advice. Before buying, listing, or hosting, verify applicable requirements with the responsible authorities and review any HOA, condominium, deed, or lease restrictions.