Lakeland, Florida

Short-term rentals are permitted in Lakeland, and the city takes a hands-off, largely state-governed approach. Florida’s 2011 state preemption (Fla. Stat. 509.032) bars cities from regulating rental duration or frequency, which sharply limits what Lakeland can do. Any dwelling rented more than three times a year for periods under 30 days counts as a transient rental and needs a Florida DBPR Vacation Rental Dwelling license, which is renewed annually and carries safety and health inspection standards. Operators must also hold a Polk County Tourist Development Tax account and a City of Lakeland Business Tax Receipt. No separate city STR permit exists, and the permit cost is not published in the data reviewed. A 5% Polk County Tourist Development Tax applies to stays of six months or less, on top of Florida’s 6% state sales tax and Polk’s local surtax, for a combined lodging tax of roughly 11% to 12%. Airbnb and Vrbo typically collect and remit these taxes. There is no cap on nights per year, and no owner-occupancy or primary-residence requirement. Zoning is the main practical constraint. Lakeland’s Land Development Code does not single out short-term rentals, so whole-home STRs are generally a residential use. The RA-1 through RA-4 districts allow only detached single dwellings with no duplexes, while duplex use is by-right in RB and conditional in MF and O-1. Rules on accessory dwelling units limit converting detached accessory structures into separate rentable units. Enforcement is rated minimal. In 2022 city commissioners directed staff to study options after about 188 STRs concentrated in Lake Morton, Lake Hollingsworth and Dixieland, but no STR ordinance has been adopted. The September 2024 ordinances (24-034 and 24-035) addressed zoning, accessory units and overlay matters, not STRs.