City Watch — Palm Beach
Pending STR legislation and regulatory rating tracking for Palm Beach.
City portrait · J. Hamilton Studio
- residential zoning districts permit ONLY single-family dwellings (+ essential services) by exhaustive permitted-use list; transient/short-term lodging is not a permitted residential use
- zoning definition of 'dwelling' (§134-2) requires a building 'used exclusively for residential occupancy' and expressly excludes hotels, motels, motor lodges, boardinghouses, lodginghouses, tourist courts and tourist homes — so transient lodging cannot be a residential 'dwelling' use
- supply-exclusion device first adopted pre-2011-06-01: §134-837 (R-A) permitted-use list Ord. No. 2-74 (3-26-1974); grandfathered under Fla. Stat. §509.032(7)
- CORRECTION: the secondary claim of a three-month (90-day) minimum embedded in the 'family' definition is REFUTED at primary — §134-2 'family' is a household-composition definition (individual / related persons / not more than three unrelated persons as a single housekeeping unit) with NO duration/minimum-stay element
Based on: Town of Palm Beach Code of Ordinances Ch. 134 (Zoning): §134-2 'Dwelling' and 'Family' definitions (Ord. No. 2-74
“CONFIRMED AT PRIMARY: §134-837 ('Permitted uses') — 'The permitted uses in the R-A estate residential district are as follows: (1) Single-family dwellings. (2) Essential services.' Exhaustive permitted-use list; transient/tourist lodging is not listed and is therefore excluded from the residential district. History: (Ord. No. 2-74, schedule B, 3-26-74; ... Ord. No. 16-2012, § 2, 12-12-12). First adopted 3-26-1974 (pre-2011-06-01).”— Town of Palm Beach Code of Ordinances Ch. 134 (Zoning): §134-2 'Dwelling' and 'Family' definitions (Ord. No. 2-74
View the ordinance source ↗✓ Verified
Last reviewed Sep 21, 2026 · Sources · Report an error
Pending legislation
Monitoring Palm Beach · system last checked Sep 21, 2026
City Watch tracks changes from public sources (council agendas, state bills, local news) as coverage is activated for this market — 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.