Gainesville, FL Short-Term Rental Checklist (Free, Printable)

📋 The Basics

Can I rent my place short-term here?: Yes, with a license or tax registration
Do I need a permit?: No city STR permit; state license and taxes apply.
What taxes do I pay?: Total about 12.5%. Check your Airbnb payout report to see which ones Airbnb collects; you pay the rest yourself.

Your 3 steps to be legal

Get a Florida DBPR license and register for sales tax.
Register for Alachua tourist tax.
Check zoning.

⚠️ Biggest risk: Missing the county tourist tax.

Words confusing? See the glossary. Details and official sources are below.

This is the general rule for Gainesville. Does your address qualify?

The free info covers the city as a whole. Your property can still be different: zoning can change from one street to the next, and an HOA or condo ban can stop rentals even where the city allows them.

Your $49 Compliance Check looks at your exact property:

Whether your exact address and zone allow short-term rentals
A check of HOA / condo rental restrictions to look for
Which permits and tax accounts you personally need
What you're missing right now
A personal report with clear next steps and official sources, by email
A refund if we report a rule in error (refund policy)

🔎 How we check: official city, county and state sources, a last-verified date on every page, and nothing guessed. Learn more

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Rules don't change every week, but they do change, and nobody emails you when they do. We'll alert you when city rules, tourist taxes, HOA-related laws, or Airbnb/Vrbo policies change in Gainesville. Cancel anytime.

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Permit / license / registration

State license (Florida DBPR): Florida DBPR vacation rental / transient public lodging license (homestead room-rental exemptions may apply).
State license: Renting a whole unit more than 3 times a year for under 30 days needs a Florida DBPR vacation rental license.
City permit: No city STR permit found: verify with the city (the city rental-unit permit program covers 30+ day rentals).

Zoning, where allowed & definitions

State preemption: Florida law (s. 509.032(7)(b), F.S.) bars local rules adopted after June 1, 2011 from prohibiting vacation rentals or regulating rental duration/frequency.

Night limits, minimum stays & occupancy

Not listed on our page: Verify with the city/county before renting.

Fees, penalties & pending changes

Not listed on our page: Verify with the city/county before renting.

Taxes & who collects them

Register / account for FL state sales tax (6%)
Register / account for Alachua County surtax (1.5%)
Register / account for Local tourist/transient taxes (5%)
What Airbnb collects: Verify in payouts which taxes your platform remits.
Vrbo and direct bookings: check which taxes Vrbo collects in your area; for direct bookings you collect and remit all of them yourself.
Mandatory cleaning fees charged to guests are taxable as part of the rental (state, surtax and tourist tax). Only an optional, separately itemized fee the guest can decline is excluded (FL Admin. Code 12A-1.061).

Total rate: 12.5%. Alachua County tourist development tax is 5% (FL DOR DR-15TDT); surtax 1.5% (FL DOR DR-15DSS). Calculate.

HOA / condo check

Read your declaration, bylaws and rules for rental bans, minimum terms, caps and approval requirements.
Get any association sign-off or approval letter your city or association requires.
See our HOA & condo guide.

Insurance

Confirm your homeowner/condo policy covers short-term rental use, or add a short-term rental policy. Platform host protection is not a substitute for insurance.
Ask your association whether it requires specific liability coverage.

Deadlines

Renew city/county permits or registrations on their schedule (often annually): confirm the date with the office that issued it.
Florida sales and transient rental tax returns: due the 1st, late after the 20th of the month after the reporting period.
Property tax dates: see Florida deadlines.

Official sources

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Is my Gainesville rental legal? Checklist