Rules
Permits, HOAs, and tourist tax, without the folklore
How Orlando, Kissimmee, Osceola, Orange, and Polk rules differ for short-term rentals, and what to verify before you list.
The parcel, the HOA documents, and the current county form are the sources that matter. The permits page walks the HOA question, the Florida DBPR fee, and the county fee one step at a time. Confirm every figure before you pay.
Start with the parcel
- Osceola County Property Appraiser — property-appraiser.org — for Kissimmee addresses, Celebration, Reunion, Windsor Hills, and St. Cloud edges.
- Orange County Property Appraiser — ocpafl.org — before you treat a home as “Orlando.”
- Polk County Property Appraiser — polkpa.org — for many Davenport and ChampionsGate addresses.
- If the city field is Orlando, Kissimmee, or St. Cloud, read that city’s rules too. The county page is not enough.
Then the usual stack
Where nightly rental is allowed, owners typically need a Florida DBPR vacation-rental license, a local business tax receipt, a tourist-tax account, and insurance that covers paying guests. HOA registration, minimum stays, and occupancy caps sit beside those, and they are enforced by people who live next door.
Two local traps
- City of Orlando: do not plan a non-owner-occupied house rental in a residential neighborhood without reading the city’s home-sharing limits. They are strict.
- St. Cloud: do not import a Kissimmee rental model. Short stays are tightly limited.
- Osceola tourist development tax: do not assume every OTA remits the whole bill. Reconcile it.
Palm Hosts will walk a property through this list during a co-host review. We do not file your taxes, sign your license, or insure your house.