Anna Maria Island has three cities, and each one sets its own vacation rental rules on top of Florida law. The City of Anna Maria registers rentals and caps occupancy at eight. Holmes Beach requires a Vacation Rental Certificate and sets minimum stays by zoning district. Bradenton Beach requires its own lodging license and ties occupancy to the building’s certificate of occupancy.

So “can I rent it out?” depends on which side of a city line the house sits. Here’s how each city’s rules work and what to check before you count on rental income.

Who regulates vacation rentals on Anna Maria Island?

Both the state and the city do, and they split the work. Under Florida Statutes s. 509.032(7)(b), a local law “may not prohibit vacation rentals or regulate the duration or frequency of rental of vacation rentals.” That limit doesn’t apply to any local law adopted on or before June 1, 2011.

Florida also defines what counts. A vacation rental is a condo or co-op unit, or a single-family to four-family house, that is also a transient public lodging establishment (s. 509.242). Florida’s lodging law treats a property as a transient establishment if it’s rented to guests more than three times in a calendar year for periods of less than 30 consecutive days, or if it’s advertised or held out to the public as a place regularly rented for such periods (s. 509.013).

Each one needs a state license. Section 509.241 requires every public lodging establishment to get a license from the Division of Hotels and Restaurants of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and operating without one is a second-degree misdemeanor.

Within those limits, cities can adopt local rules on things like registration, noise, parking and occupancy. The Legislature’s 2014 bill analysis lists noise, parking, registration and signage as examples (House Final Bill Analysis, CS/HB 307). Inspection of lodging is otherwise a state function, though s. 509.032(7)(a) leaves local inspections for Florida Building Code and Fire Prevention Code compliance. That’s where the three island cities part ways.

What are the rules in the City of Anna Maria?

Anna Maria requires vacation rentals in its single-family and two-family residential zoning districts to register with the city, pass an inspection and stay within an occupancy cap. Its rules sit in Chapter 108 of the city code, enacted by Ordinance 15-807 on November 19, 2015.

The chapter says plainly what it doesn’t do. It “does not prohibit vacation rentals, or the duration or frequency of vacation rentals,” and is aimed at life safety and compatibility instead. So Chapter 108 regulates how many people stay and how the property is run, not how long they stay.

Here’s what the code and the city’s Vacation Rentals page require:

• Registration on city forms, with a fee set by resolution of the city commission. A registration is valid for one year and must be renewed annually before it expires.
• An inspection after the first registration and annually after each renewal. For a new registration, the city says you may not advertise or rent the property until it has passed inspection.
• Supporting documents, including the state lodging license from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, a certificate of registration with the Florida Department of Revenue, and an active account with the Manatee County Tax Collector.

Anna Maria’s occupancy cap

Maximum occupancy is the lesser of two numbers. The first is a bedroom formula: two people per bedroom of 100 square feet or more, one per bedroom of at least 70 but under 100 square feet, plus two. The second is a flat cap of eight occupants per vacation rental. The cap doesn’t apply when the property is owner occupied, which the code defines as rent-free occupancy by members of the owner’s family, with the owner’s consent.

So a large house still tops out at eight renters under the standard rule. Check the occupancy stated on a property’s registration rather than assuming it from the bedroom count.

What are the rules in Holmes Beach?

Holmes Beach requires a Vacation Rental Certificate, sets minimum rental periods by zoning district and caps overnight occupancy. The city’s Vacation Rental Certificates page says a certificate “is required for all rental properties located within the city.” It also notes the city no longer requires a Rental Business Tax Receipt.

The page lists the fees. An initial application, including inspections, is $780.00, and the renewal fee every two years is $780. Under Chapter 4 of the city code, no unit may be rented or offered for rent without a valid certificate. Each unit is inspected before an initial or renewal certificate is issued, and renewals are filed between 60 and 30 days before the certificate expires.

Minimum stays by zoning district

Two houses a few streets apart can carry different rules here. The city publishes these minimum rental periods:

The city also notes that certain grandfathered hotels can rent daily, and its page points to Land Development Code Article IV, Section 4.2(D) for the 10-year “sunshine” on R-1 nonconforming rentals. Ask the city whether that applies to a property you’re considering.

Holmes Beach’s occupancy cap

Chapter 4 sets maximum overnight occupancy at six people or two per bedroom, whichever is greater. Unlike Anna Maria, the bedroom count can raise the cap here.

The city also publishes a searchable listing of active vacation rentals for checking a property’s certificate.

What are the rules in Bradenton Beach?

Bradenton Beach requires three permissions for transient use of a home: a state lodging license, a municipal Business Tax Receipt and a city Transient Public Lodging Establishment (TPLE) License. That’s set out in Chapter 59 of the city code, adopted in 2015 and amended in 2017 and 2019.

The city sets the TPLE application fee by resolution, and application fees are non-refundable. Operating standards include:

• Occupancy. The city calls it the “Modified 2+2 Rule.” The number of occupants can’t exceed the limit in the building’s certificate of occupancy or the state license, whichever is less. Visitors are allowed, but total people on the premises can never exceed twice the certificate of occupancy limit.
• Trash. At least one trashcan for every two bedrooms, with weekly collection arranged by the operator during every month the home is available to rent.
• Contact. The operator must be personally available by telephone around the clock to respond to calls about the rental.

For a buyer, the occupancy rule means the building’s certificate of occupancy matters as much as the bedroom count. Ask for it early.

How do the three cities compare?

All three also sit under the state’s own licensing requirement.

What should a buyer check before counting on rental income?

Start with the address. The rules attach to the city and, in Holmes Beach, the zoning district.

1. 1
   Which city is it in? The three cities sit side by side on one island, but each has its own code. Confirm the city for the parcel with the city or the county property appraiser.
2. 2
   What’s the zoning, in Holmes Beach? The difference between R-1 and R-2 is the difference between monthly and weekly stays.
3. 3
   Is there a current registration or certificate? In Holmes Beach, check the city’s active listing. Elsewhere, ask the seller for the current registration and its stated occupancy.
4. 4
   What do the condo or HOA documents say? A condo amendment restricting rentals applies only to owners who consent and owners who buy after it takes effect (s. 718.110(13)). Homeowners’ associations work differently for short stays. Rental rules enacted after July 1, 2021 generally bind only owners who buy afterward or consent, but an association may amend its documents to prohibit or regulate rentals of less than six months, or to limit a parcel to three rentals a calendar year, and those amendments apply to all parcel owners (s. 720.306(1)(h)). Read the current documents and any proposed amendments before you count on short-term income.
5. 5
   Are the state license and tax accounts in place? Anna Maria’s application asks for the state lodging license, Department of Revenue registration and a Manatee County Tax Collector account.

Rules change, and cities can amend them. Confirm the current version with the city’s code office before you rely on any figure here, and talk to a tax professional about the income side.

If you’re comparing the island cities as places to own, our Anna Maria Island homes for sale page covers all three.

Frequently asked questions

This article summarizes public code and statute text as published on the retrieval date. It isn’t legal or tax advice. Confirm the current rules for a specific property with the city and your own advisers.

The Buky Group