City Watch
Short-term rental rules in Fort Myers Beach, FL
How Fort Myers 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 duration floor: Table 34-2 / § 34-2391 caps rentals in certain residential districts at single-family use per one-month period with a one-week minimum stay (excludes sub-week/nightly STRs)
- grandfather device: only dwellings with lawful weekly-rental use in the 12 months before Jan 1, 2003 (registered per § 34-2392) escape the one-month restriction — a fixed pre-2011 legacy inventory
- mandatory local STR registration (Ord. 18-01, adopted 2018-05-07) with registration number required in all advertising
- tiered registration fees ($300 + $100/bedroom), annual renewal Oct 1–Dec 31
- code of conduct + enforcement regime (§ 34-2393 / § 34-2394)
- layered general obligations: FL DBPR ch. 509 vacation-rental license, 6% state sales tax, Lee County tourist-development tax
Based on: Land Development Code ch. 34, Div. 32-A (§§ 34-2391–34-2394) incl. Table 34-2 (minimum one-month/one-week rental floor)
Summary of the rule
LDC § 34-2391: 'Table 34-2 restricts the rental of any permitted dwelling unit in certain zoning districts to a single-family during any one-month period, with a minimum stay of one week, or less for condominiums' (see the 'restricted' sub-group of the 'lodging' use group in Table 34-1). Excludes nightly/sub-week STR in those residential districts. In force in the current LDC; operative in 2002-2003 per the § 34-2392 registry (pre-2011). Rule also present in the LDC codified through Sept 2002.
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Last reviewed Sep 9, 2026 · Sources · Report an error
Pending legislation
Monitoring Fort Myers Beach · system last checked Oct 24, 2026
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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.