▼

Short Term Rentals

Show All Answers

1. How does a person apply for a short term rental registration?

Registration can be made on our portal at www.cityofdestin.com/compass.

Residential Rental Information

2. What is required to obtain STR registration?

Required documents are:   

City of Destin Local Business Tax Receipt and Application. Please call 850-837-4242 or visit the Building Division for more information. 

Department of Business and Professional Regulation Dwelling license. This process can be started by visiting www.myfloridalicense.com or call 850-487-1395, find the application under “Apply for /Update License> Hotels and Restaurants>Vacation Rental Dwelling”. 

State of Florida Resale Tax Certificate. This process can be started visiting http://floridarevenue.com/taxes/taxesfees/Pages/sales_tax.aspx under the taxes tab, begin with “Register to Collect & Report Taxes” or call 850-488-6800. 

Additional forms: 

Certificate of Affidavit: Contact Planning/Building Division for more information. 

Change of Use Form: Contact Planning/Building Division for more information. 

3. Where in the City of Destin are STRS Allowed?

Short Term Rentals are generally allowed in the following zoning districts within the City of Destin: See “Zoning Map’on the city’s website for location of zoning district area. 

 

Bay Resort Mixed Use (BRMU) 

Crystal Beach Resort (CBR) 

Calhoun Mixed Use (CMU) 

Gulf Resort Mixed Use (GRMU) 

Holiday Isle Mixed Use (HIMU) 

North Harbor Mixed Use (NHMU)

Residential, Office Institutional Tourist Development (ROI-TD) 

South Harbor Mixed Use (SHMU) 

Crystal Beach Neighborhood (CBN) 

Low Density Residential-Holiday Isle (LDR-HI) 

Medium Density Residential-Holiday Isle (MDR-HI) 

High Density Residential-Holiday Isle (HDR-HI)

4. What is the fee for obtaining a short term rental registration?

TOTAL SQUARE FOOTAGE Find your Total Sq Ft. at the Okaloosa PA Website	CC – STR REGISTRATION FEE
Less Than or Equal to: 2499 sq. ft.	$500
2500 – 4999 sq. ft.	$600
Greater Than or equal to: 5000 sq. ft.	$700

Apply online

5. Does a short term rental have to register each year?

Yes, properties have to be registered each year.

6. How many guest are allowed to stay in a STR?

Maximum occupancy limits apply from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.  The maximum allowable occupancy in a STR is 2 adults per bedroom plus an additional 4 persons per property. (For example, a three bedroom house is allowed 10 people for overnight occupancy). Overall maximum overnight occupancy is capped at 24 persons per house, regardless of the number of bedrooms.

7. When does the registration period start?

Registration commences on January 1st of each year.  Late fees assessed after March 31st of $100 and then again after June 1st, the late fee will be $500.00.

8. What are the fees for late registration?

Properties registered after March 31st will have a $100 late fee assessed. Properties registered after June 1st will have a $500 late fee assessed.

9. If I change management companies do they have to register my property again?

Yes, Registrations are non-transferable from one company to another or when property changes owners.

Residential Rentals

10. What is the correct size of the sign?

The City Code requires the sign to be 18 x 18 in size. No additional rider sign is allowed.

11. What information has to be on the sign?

Name and telephone number of Management Company Name and telephone number of Emergency Contact (if different from Management Company) Occupancy limit  Number of available parking spaces.

Residential Rentals OptOut

12. Where do I get the STR decal?

Decals can be picked up at the City of Destin Annex located adjacent to the dog park at 4100 Indian Bayou Trail.  Hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday –Friday.

13. Where is the decal placed on the sign?

Decal is to be placed on the top right hand corner of the sign.

 

14. Will the sign decals be numbered, in order to prevent theft?

The decals being used for the remainder of this year are not numbered, however, beginning next year, all decals will be numbered. All decals are currently dated and color-coded. Please note: City records maintain which properties have been properly registered (and have received a decal).  Such records may be reviewed if theft is suspected.

 

15. How soon do I have to have my sign up on my property after I register?

Signage is to be posted on the property within 7 days following the completion of the registration.

16. Where do I post my sign on my property?

The sign must be prominently placed on the property of the single-family dwelling unit so that the required content of the sign shall be legible as viewed from the public right-of-way; however signage shall not be placed in the public right of way. Signs are not allowed to be posted in windows, on trees, fences other objects that has a message appearing on it that does not apply to the present use of the premises or structure upon which the sign is located and is not otherwise permitted by the City Code.

Acceptable Signage

Unacceptable Signage

17. My HOA says I cant have a sign, is that true?

All regulations regarding the posting of a sign on the property preempt any homeowner’s association restrictions on the posting of signage to the extent that any such restrictions or regulations conflict with the City Code.

18. Why do I need an emergency contact listed on my sign?

Existing City Code requires a local responsible party to be located close enough to the property to be present at the property within one hour if needed (i.e., in emergency circumstances). Some short-term rental properties utilize a rental contact that is located greater than one hour from the premises. In such circumstances, the local responsible party’s emergency phone number would be different from the rental contact’s number

19. How will the number of parking spots be determined?

The Community Development Department will provide a form affidavit for the registrant to fill out and attest to the parking available onsite, and will also provide a guide to the registrant with respect to how to calculate the onsite parking. This guide can be downloaded here:  Parking Space Calculations Guide

 

Please note that if a complaint is received by the City regarding alleged parking violations, the Community Development Department and Code Compliance Department will work together to determine if the information provided on the affidavit is correct and meets applicable City Codes, and whether a violation of any City Code exists. 

20. Will the grandfather clause remain in effect if the property sells?

Yes, if grandfathered, that status remains in effect for five years regardless of ownership, provided the use is not abandoned by the new owner.

21. Conflicting issues in 13-118 first paragraph states that pre-existing agreements books prior to enactment of this ordinance, are valid for one year and we have 120 days to change our advertising?

The purpose of the 120-day grace period for marketing is to abate punitive action by the Code Compliance Department for those advertisements that may already be scheduled to run as of the Ordinance’s effective date (Jan. 22, 2019) and in the immediate 4 months thereafter (May 22, 2019).  It is not the intent of the ordinance to encourage owners and agents to run new ads in violation of the ordinance during that time, but rather, is protection for owners and agents who may not be able to stop ads that have already been scheduled.  

However, this shouldn’t affect the pre-existing agreements which are only those contracts entered into prior to the ordinance taking effect.  Now that the ordinance has taken effect, the property owners/agents are no longer permitted to violate the Ordinance, except that if an agreement was entered into before January 22, 2019, and the booking will take place before January 22, 2020, those bookings are still authorized under the Ordinance.  Contracts are only “pre-existing” and exempt from the Ordinance if they were entered into prior to Jan. 22, 2019.