City Watch
Short-term rental rules in Miami, FL
How Miami 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.
- Outright transient/STR exclusion in T3 residential transect (single-family & duplex zones)
- Pre-2011 grandfathered device punches through FL §509.032(7) preemption
- Judicially upheld (City of Miami v. Airbnb, Fla. 3d DCA 2018)
- Citywide certificate-of-use / registration + BTR layered on top of zoning exclusion
Based on: Miami 21 Zoning Code (Ord. No. 13114, adopted Oct. 22, 2009; effective May 20, 2010); reaffirmed via 2017
Summary of the rule
T3 transient/lodging exclusion (Miami 21 Art. 4, Table 3; Art. 1.1), recited verbatim by City of Miami v. Airbnb, Inc., 260 So.3d 478 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018), No. 3D17-1213: "The T3 zone is labeled 'sub-urban,' and the only use allowed by right is 'residential.' §1.1, §4, tbl.3, Miami 21"; "Building uses defined by Miami 21 that are not permitted in the T3 zone include 'Lodging.'" Miami 21 §1.1 defines Lodging as "land [u]se functions predominantly of sleeping accommodations occupied on a rental basis for limited periods of time" and Residential as "land use functions predominantly of permanent housing." Transient/short-term (Lodging) use is therefore EXCLUDED in T3 (single-family & duplex) and permitted in the higher transects (T4/T5/T6, CI-HD). The court held the T3 exclusion NOT preempted by FL §509.032(7) because the Miami 21 provisions are unchanged from their 2009 adoption (pre-2011-06-01).
View the ordinance source ↗✓ Verified
Active litigation / open question
City of Miami v. Airbnb, Inc., No. 3D17-1213 (Fla. 3d DCA, Dec. 5, 2018) — Appellate court reversed trial-court injunction; upheld Miami's authority to prohibit STRs in T3 because the Miami 21 use provisions predate 2011 and are grandfathered under §509.032(7) Source ↗
Reported as fact only, reflecting the code as currently in effect — not legal advice, and not a prediction of the outcome. Verify current status before relying on it.
Last reviewed Sep 9, 2026 · Sources · Report an error
Pending legislation
Monitoring Miami · system last checked Nov 10, 2026
Owners in Miami
Following Miami adds it to the Followed cities list on your ASTRO dashboard, linked to its city page.
Add a home to the ASTRO registry and confirm ownership of it.
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.