Can you Airbnb in St. Pete?
Short answer: in most of St. Petersburg you can rent for under 30 days only three times a year — so where you buy decides whether a nightly rental is even legal. Below: the rules for every Pinellas jurisdiction, a live ROI calculator, and the three things that quietly break STR cash flow.
Short-term rental ROI calculator
Model a St. Pete STR on real Pinellas assumptions — then tune every input to a specific listing. Watch what a coastal flood-insurance premium does to the cash-on-cash return.
The property & the numbers
$131,250 down
219 booked nights/yr
0 if you self-manage
Coastal AE/VE runs high
$8,400/yr
Short-term rental rules by Pinellas city
Nightly-rental legality is set at the city (and often the zoning-district) level — not statewide. This is where a deal is won or lost before you ever run the numbers.
| Jurisdiction | Short-term OK? | Min. stay | What the rule says | Register / license |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Petersburg | Restricted | <30 days: 3×/yr | Rentals under 30 days are capped at 3 times per year per unit in most residential zoning; 30-day-plus stays are unrestricted. Some downtown/commercial districts differ. | City BTR + FL DBPR license + county tourist-tax account |
| Unincorporated Pinellas County | Restricted | <30 days: 3×/yr | New 2025 ordinance: STRs need an annual $450 Certificate of Use, cap occupancy at 2 guests per bedroom + 2 (max 10), require 1 off-street parking space per 3 guests, and set 10pm–9am quiet hours. Applies only outside city limits. | County Certificate of Use ($450/yr) + inspection + DBPR + tourist tax |
| Pinellas Park | Nightly OK | None | No city rental-length restrictions — nightly rentals are allowed. You still need the standard state license, local business tax receipt, and county tourist tax. | City BTR + FL DBPR license + tourist tax |
| Kenneth City | Nightly OK | None | No town rental-length restrictions — nightly rentals are allowed with the standard state license, local BTR, and county tourist tax. | Town BTR + FL DBPR license + tourist tax |
| Gulfport | Restricted | 30 days, 3×/yr (most zones) | Zoning is "listed uses only" — STRs are NOT allowed citywide. Nightly rentals are confined mainly to the Waterfront Redevelopment District strips (Gulfport/Shore/Beach Blvd); in residential zones the minimum is one month, max 3 rentals per year. | City BTR + FL DBPR license + tourist tax |
| Largo | Nightly OK | None | Short-term rentals are allowed, but taken seriously: an annual fire inspection and a 24/7 designated responsible party are required, along with registration. | City registration + fire inspection + responsible party + DBPR + tourist tax |
| Treasure Island | Nightly OK | None (tourist zones) | Nightly rentals fully legal in the tourist/resort zones (CG, RFM-30, RFH-50, PR-MU). Single-family (RU-75, max 2 turnovers/yr) and multi-family (RM-15, max 6/yr) residential zones effectively bar short-term use. | City BTR + FL DBPR license + tourist tax |
| Indian Shores | Nightly OK | None (town-wide) | No town minimum stay in any zoning district — nightly rentals allowed everywhere. But condo/HOA declarations often set their own minimums, and the town requires STR registration. | Town STR registration + FL DBPR license + 24-hr local contact + tourist tax |
| Indian Rocks Beach | Nightly OK | None (all residential) | Nightly rentals permitted in all residential zoning with no minimum stay — but with heavy registration: annual city registration (number in every ad), BTR, annual safety inspection, and occupancy caps. | City registration + BTR + annual inspection + DBPR + tourist tax |
| Clearwater | 30+ days | 31 days (residential) | A 31-day minimum applies in residential districts (about 30 grandfathered North Beach homes are exempt). True nightly rental is limited to tourist/resort zones. | DBPR license + tourist tax (+ city requirements in tourist zones) |
| Dunedin | Restricted | Tourist zones (else 90 days) | Nightly rentals are allowed only in tourist, commercial, downtown, and form-based districts. In residential zoning, a rental under 90 days is a prohibited transient use. | City BTR + DBPR + tourist tax |
| Safety Harbor | Restricted | R-3 conditional use only | Short-term "tourist homes" (6 weeks or less) are allowed only in the R-3 district, and only as a conditional use requiring City Commission approval. 30-day-plus rentals are otherwise fine. | City conditional-use approval + BTR + DBPR + tourist tax |
| Tarpon Springs | 30+ days | Resort zone (else ~6 wks) | Short-term rentals are allowed via the Resort Residential district (tourist homes, B&Bs, and conditional hotel/condo-hotel uses); general residential zoning carries roughly a six-week minimum. | City BTR + DBPR + tourist tax |
| Seminole | Restricted | Not permitted in residential | Short-term rental (occupancy under one month, more than 3×/year) has not been a permitted use in residential zoning since 2005 — effectively prohibited in residential areas. | DBPR + tourist tax (residential nightly not permitted) |
| South Pasadena | Restricted | Prohibited in single-family | Transient/tourist dwellings (and hotel/motel uses) are prohibited in single-family residential districts. | DBPR + tourist tax (residential nightly not permitted) |
| Oldsmar | Prohibited | Not allowed | Oldsmar does not permit short-term rentals — confirm any specific use with the city. | — |
| St. Pete Beach | Restricted | 30 days (RM/PAG: 3×/yr) | Under-30-day rentals banned in most zones; only the RM and Pass-A-Grille Overlay districts allow them, capped at 3×/year per parcel. 30-day-plus allowed citywide. | City license (Zoning + Fire Marshal review) + DBPR + tourist tax |
| Madeira Beach | Restricted | R-1: 6 mo · R-2: 3 mo | Nightly rentals allowed in commercial/tourist and R-3 districts; single-family R-1 requires a 6-month minimum and R-2 a 3-month minimum (unless grandfathered pre-2006). | City BTR + city inspection + DBPR + tourist tax ($500/violation) |
| Redington Shores | 30+ days | RS: 181 days · RM: 30 days | Nightly rentals banned in all residential zones (6-month minimum in single-family RS, one-month in multifamily). True vacation rentals allowed only in the CTF commercial-tourist district. | Town BTR + Certificate of Use (for STR) + DBPR + tourist tax |
| North Redington Beach | 30+ days | 90 days (residential) | A 90-day minimum applies in every residential zoning district — true short-term rentals are effectively banned outside the commercial-tourist district. | DBPR + tourist tax (confirm town BTR with Town Hall) |
| Belleair Beach | 30+ days | 3 months (≤4 tenancies/yr) | Effectively bans nightly Airbnb use: homes must be rented for a minimum of three months, no more than four tenancies per year, and registered annually with the city. | Annual city rental registration + DBPR + tourist tax |
| Belleair Bluffs | 30+ days | 3 months (≤4 tenancies/yr) | Residential rentals require a minimum three-month term, with no more than four separate tenancies in any 12 months — nightly rental is effectively banned. | Town registration + DBPR + tourist tax |
| Belleair | 30+ days | 7 months (≤2 tenancies/yr) | One of the strictest in the county — a seven-month minimum lease and no more than two tenancies per residential property in any 12 months. Nightly rental is effectively banned. | Town registration + DBPR + tourist tax |
Rules change and enforcement varies — verify with the jurisdiction before you buy. Linked sources are the governing ordinance or official page where available. Statewide, every Florida STR also needs a DBPR vacation-rental license and must collect state sales tax + Pinellas County tourist development tax.
The new unincorporated-county rule everyone gets slightly wrong
In March 2025 the Pinellas County Commission adopted a short-term-rental ordinance that took effect through summer 2025 (phased in by ZIP code). It applies only to unincorporated Pinellas County — the pockets outside any city's limits. Here's what it actually says, because the version passed around at open houses is usually a little off:
- Occupancy is capped at 2 guests per bedroom, plus 2 in the common area — a hard maximum of 10. It's driven by bedroom count, not lot size, and there is no exception that lets a bigger property sleep more than 10. (The “you need a bigger lot” version people repeat is really about the parking rule below.)
- One off-street parking space per 3 guests, rounded up — and front-lawn parking doesn't count. This is the real property-size lever: a home can only host as many guests as it has legal off-street parking for.
- A $450/year Certificate of Use (plus a $150 initial inspection), 10pm–9am quiet hours, and the same “under 30 days, more than 3× a year” definition of a short-term rental.
And the part people mix up most: the county rule does not apply inside anyincorporated city — not just Pinellas Park or Largo. If your parcel sits inside St. Petersburg, Gulfport, Clearwater, or any other city, that city's ordinance governs (see the table above), and the county Certificate of Use doesn't apply. The county ordinance only reaches the unincorporated gaps between the cities. Not sure which one you're in? That single question can change whether a deal pencils — send me the address and I'll confirm the jurisdiction before you offer.
How to make a St. Pete short-term rental legal
Even in a zone that allows nightly rental, an STR is not “set it and forget it.” Every legal Pinellas short-term rental needs three registrations, plus tax:
- A Florida DBPR vacation-rental license (Division of Hotels & Restaurants) — the state license to operate a dwelling as a transient rental.
- A local business tax receipt (BTR) from the city — and in some towns a Certificate of Use and a passed inspection before your first booking.
- A Pinellas County Tourist Development Tax account — you collect and remit roughly 13% total (6% state sales tax + 1% county surtax + 6% tourist tax) on every stay.
The three things that quietly break cash flow
The listing photos are the fun part. The part that hurts is finding out, after you fall for the kitchen, that the income you modeled isn't legal — or that insurance eats it. In order:
- Zoning. The single biggest risk. A home two blocks from a nightly-legal parcel can be barred from short-term use entirely. Verify the exact parcel's zoning district against the table above — don't trust a listing that says “great Airbnb potential.”
- HOA & condo rules. Even where the city allows nightly rental, a condo or HOA declaration can impose its own 30-day (or longer) minimum that overrides it. This is especially common in beach condos — read the docs before the inspection period ends.
- Flood insurance. The coastal zones with the best nightly demand carry the highest premiums. A beachfront VE-zone home can run $8,000–$15,000+ a year in flood + wind coverage — enough to flip a good pro-forma negative. Check the address in our flood-zone lookup and get a real transferable quote before you offer.
Where St. Pete investors actually buy for nightly rental
If a true nightly rental is the goal, the cleanest paths are the tourist/resort zones of the barrier islands — Treasure Island and Indian Shores are the most permissive — or a downtown/commercial-zoned St. Petersburg property rather than a standard residential lot. In the mainland neighborhoods, the smarter play is often a 30-day-plus mid-term rental (traveling nurses, snowbirds, relocations), which is unrestricted citywide and sidesteps the whole nightly-rental fight. Want to see which specific neighborhoods pencil out? Start with our neighborhood guides.
Frequently asked questions
Can you legally run an Airbnb in St. Petersburg, FL?
Yes, but with a hard limit: in most St. Petersburg residential zoning, you may rent a home for less than 30 days no more than three times in a calendar year. Rentals of 30 days or longer are unrestricted. Some downtown and commercial districts allow true nightly operation. Every short-term rental also needs a Florida DBPR vacation-rental license, a city business tax receipt, and a Pinellas County tourist-tax account.
What is the new 2025 Pinellas County short-term rental rule?
In March 2025 Pinellas County adopted an STR ordinance for unincorporated areas (phased in by ZIP through summer 2025). It requires a $450/year Certificate of Use, caps occupancy at two guests per bedroom plus two (a hard maximum of 10), requires one off-street parking space per three guests, and sets 10pm–9am quiet hours. It applies only to unincorporated Pinellas County — not inside any incorporated city, where the city’s own rules govern.
Which Pinellas cities actually allow nightly Airbnb rentals?
The most short-term-friendly are the tourist/resort zones of the barrier islands — Treasure Island (CG/RFM/RFH/PR-MU zones) and Indian Shores (no town minimum) allow true nightly rentals. Most other beach towns (St. Pete Beach, Madeira Beach, the Redingtons, Belleair Beach) restrict nightly use to commercial/tourist zones and impose 30-day-to-6-month minimums in residential zones. Always confirm the exact parcel’s zoning before you buy.
What taxes do you pay on a short-term rental in Pinellas County?
Roughly 13% of gross rental revenue: 6% Florida state sales tax, a 1% Pinellas discretionary surtax, and the 6% Pinellas County Tourist Development Tax. You collect these from guests and remit them — platforms like Airbnb handle some but not always all of it, so confirm what you owe directly.
What is a realistic ROI on a St. Pete short-term rental?
Well-located Pinellas STRs have run around 60% occupancy at a ~$261 average nightly rate, producing cash-on-cash returns commonly in the 7–12% range (higher for beachfront). But the two swing factors are the property’s legal STR status and its flood-insurance cost — a coastal AE/VE home can carry $8,000–$15,000+ in annual insurance that erases the spread. Use the calculator above with the real numbers for a specific address.
What kills short-term rental cash flow in St. Pete?
Three things, in order: (1) zoning — buying a home where nightly rental is not a legal use; (2) HOA or condo rules that impose their own minimum stays even where the city allows nightly; and (3) flood insurance — the coastal zones with the best rental demand also carry the highest premiums. Pressure-test all three before you write an offer.
Send me the listing before you write the offer.
Tell me the address and I'll pressure-test the zoning, the HOA/condo docs, the flood-insurance quote, and the real numbers — so you find out it's a bad STR before closing, not after.
Pressure-test a property →Rules summarized from each jurisdiction's ordinance/official page and change over time; Florida Statute §509.032 preempts some newer local rules while grandfathering older ones, and enforcement is contested. This is general information, not legal advice — verify the current rule with the jurisdiction (and your attorney) for any specific property before relying on it.