Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

Ponte Vedra Beach is unincorporated, so short-term rentals are governed by St. Johns County’s Short-Term Vacation Rental Ordinance (2021-23, revised). STRs are legal, but each rental unit must register with the county and renew every 12 months. Registration requires a local Business Tax Receipt, a Florida DBPR Transient Public Lodging license, and a Florida Department of Revenue sales-and-use tax certificate; if renting via Airbnb or Vrbo, operators must document that the platform collects and remits taxes.

Operating standards cap occupancy at two transient guests per sleeping room or common area (10 maximum, excluding children 12 and under), and require one off-street parking space per three guests and one covered trash container per four guests. There is no cap on nights per year and no owner-occupancy or primary-residence requirement. Notably, owner-occupied homesteaded single-family homes (and certain duplexes and HOA-managed multifamily properties) are exempt from registration, as are all properties west of the Intracoastal Waterway.

On taxes, operators collect 5.0% county Tourist Development (bed) tax plus 6% Florida state sales tax, plus any applicable discretionary surtax, for roughly 11.5% total lodging tax. St. Johns County adopted its first STR ordinance in May 2021, establishing registration, occupancy, parking, and solid-waste rules for unincorporated areas east of the Intracoastal, which includes Ponte Vedra Beach. Enforcement is rated moderate; the county’s online registration portal has been intermittently unavailable, which can complicate compliance timing.