Subletting laws and regulations in Florida - 2026

You rent a Fort Lauderdale condo and want to sublease the second bedroom to a traveling nurse for the summer. You text the owner about it on a Sunday night.

The owner reads the message and wonders whether the arrangement is legal. You both search for an answer, and both come away unsure what Florida law allows.

Florida's lease forms can say almost anything about subletting, while the state statute says nothing at all. One of you assumes the state protects the arrangement. The other assumes it bans it. Neither is right.

Layer on association rental caps and city ordinances that fine illegal short-term rentals in five figures. The Legislature amended the notice statute effective in 2025 and 2026. The same question now gets a different answer on every street in the state.

Subleasing laws in Florida: the short answer

Residential subleasing in Florida is legal, but no Florida statute grants or denies the right to do it. The Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Chapter 83, Part II of the Florida Statutes (§§ 83.40-83.683), never uses the words "sublet," "sublease," "sublessee," or "assign" anywhere in its text, so your lease agreement decides whether you can sublet. Under the Florida Bar's standard lease forms, that means you need written landlord consent before a subtenant moves in.

Because the Act is silent on the subject, the evidence for that silence matters. You can confirm it yourself against the 2026 statute index. The Florida Bar's consumer guidance states it plainly: "The Act does not codify a specific right for tenants to assign, sublease, or sublet." (The Florida Bar)

Because the Legislature did not regulate permission to sublet, courts generally enforce the lease terms. The Florida Bar's approved single-family and multi-family forms carry this default clause, and well-drafted lease agreements should address the same point directly:

"Unless this box is checked, Tenant may not assign the Lease or sublease all or any part of the Premises without first obtaining Landlord's written approval and consent to the assignment or sublease." (Florida Bar single-family form)

That language makes written consent the rule for tenants who sign the form. Where a lease is silent, Florida courts have traditionally favored the tenant's freedom to transfer. But no appellate court between 2020 and 2025 decided a residential lease-silent case, so a landlord and tenant who disagree are arguing from 1927 precedent.

Several parts of Chapter 83 still apply to every sublease even though none of them mention the word. Section 83.49 may govern any security deposit the sublessor collects, although no appellate court has squarely resolved that issue, while § 83.56(2) provides the 7-day notice a landlord generally uses against a tenant who sublets without permission. Section 83.47 voids any lease term that waives a Part II right, which cuts the other way here: since Part II grants no right to sublet, a no-sublet clause waives nothing and is fully enforceable. (§ 83.47)

The original tenant generally stays on the hook throughout. A sublease shifts occupancy while liability generally stays with the original tenant.

Which Florida statutes apply to a sublease

Chapter 83 applies to a sublease at the deposit and notice stages. It applies again if someone attempts a lockout. At no point does the Legislature grant or deny permission. This table maps each section to the moment when it affects a sublease:

• Statute | What it says | Where it hits a sublease
• Chapter 83, Part II (§§ 83.40-83.683) | Governs the rental of a dwelling unit; contains no sublet or assignment language (2026 index) | Provides deposit and notice rules, plus anti-lockout protection; leaves permission to the lease
• § 83.43 | Defines "landlord" as the "owner or lessor of a dwelling unit" and "tenant" as "any person entitled to occupy a dwelling unit under a rental agreement" (§ 83.43) | A sublessor is the lessor to the subtenant; the rental agreement determines who may occupy
• § 83.47 | Voids lease terms that waive Part II rights | A no-sublet clause survives because Part II creates no sublet right to waive
• § 83.49 | Deposit holding options, 30-day disclosure, 15-day return, 30-day claim notice (§ 83.49) | May govern the deposit a sublessor takes from a subtenant; no appellate court has squarely resolved the question
• § 83.52 | Tenant must require "other persons on the premises with his or her consent" to avoid disturbing neighbors or breaching the peace (§ 83.52) | The tenant answers to the landlord for the subtenant's conduct
• § 83.56(2) | 7-day cure notice for curable noncompliance, including "unauthorized pets, guests, or vehicles"; 7-day termination notice for incurable conduct (§ 83.56) | Provides the landlord's likely remedy for an unauthorized sublet
• § 83.67 | Bars utility shutoffs and lock changes; penalty is actual and consequential damages or 3 months' rent, whichever is greater, plus attorney fees (§ 83.67) | Blocks self-help removal of a subtenant
• § 83.06 | Double rent when a tenant holds over after the lease ends; sits in Part I, nonresidential tenancies (§ 83.06) | Does not govern residential subleasing

Several websites incorrectly cite § 83.06 as Florida's subletting statute. Its title is "Right to demand double rent upon refusal to deliver possession." It addresses only holdover tenants and interest on rent, and it lives in Part I, which "applies to all tenancies not governed by part II." (Chapter 83, Part I) Any summary of Florida landlord-tenant laws that hangs residential subletting rights on § 83.06 misreads the section, which governs nonresidential holdovers rather than residential subletting.

Subleasing vs subletting vs assignment vs adding a roommate

Subleasing and subletting are the same transaction under two names, and Florida courts sort every transfer into either a sublease or an assignment based on what the document does rather than what it is called. The terms you need:

• Sublessor: The original tenant who rents all or part of the unit to someone else while keeping their own lease with the landlord.
• Sublessee (subtenant): The person who pays the sublessor for the right to occupy, and who has no contract with the landlord.
• Assignee: A person who takes over the tenant's entire remaining lease term, so nothing reverts to the original tenant.
• Co-tenant (roommate on the lease): A person the landlord adds to the rental agreement, who then owes rent directly to the landlord.
• Additional occupant: A person the landlord approves in writing to live in the unit without signing the lease; the Florida Bar multi-family form requires this approval for anyone staying beyond its guest limit, which defaults to 7 nights per calendar month. (Florida Bar multi-family form)

The Florida Supreme Court set the dividing line in C.N.H.F., Inc. v. Eagle Crest Development Co. (1930): the test is "whether the entire interest in the term is transferred without a reversion being retained by the original lessee." A right to re-enter for nonpayment does not create a reversion. Labels carry no weight. The court explained: "The form of an assignment of lease is immaterial, its character in law being determined by its legal effect." (Eagle Crest) In Drawdy v. Leonard (1940), the court treated a document titled "sublease" as an assignment because it covered the whole remaining term. (Drawdy)

The distinction decides who can sue whom:

• Arrangement | Who signs | Who owes the landlord | Who can evict whom
• Sublease | Tenant and subtenant sign a sublease; landlord signs a written consent if the lease requires one | The original tenant. There is "no privity of contract or estate between [an] original lessor and [a] sublessee" (Leesburg Community Cancer Center) | Landlord serves notice on and evicts the tenant; the tenant, as the subtenant's lessor, is the party who removes the subtenant
• Assignment | Tenant and assignee sign an assignment; landlord consents | The assignee owes rent directly through privity of estate; the original tenant stays liable unless released | Landlord can proceed directly against the assignee
• Co-tenant | Roommate signs the landlord's lease or an addendum | Each named tenant owes the landlord directly | Landlord evicts under Chapter 83 like any tenant
• Approved occupant | Landlord approves in writing; occupant signs nothing | The named tenant | Landlord's notice goes to the tenant; the occupant leaves when the tenant's lease ends or the landlord withdraws approval

Do you need your landlord's permission to sublet in Florida?

The lease usually determines whether you need permission because Chapter 83 does not grant that permission. Section 83.43(17) defines a tenant as anyone "entitled to occupy a dwelling unit under a rental agreement," so the right to put another person in the unit exists only if the agreement grants it. (§ 83.43)

Two lease categories cover almost every Florida tenant:

• If your lease restricts subletting, follow the restriction. The Florida Bar default clause and similar provisions require the landlord's written approval before the subtenant moves in, and verbal permission is a dispute waiting to happen. If your lease bans subletting outright, no statute overrides the ban. Section 83.47 protects only rights that Part II grants, and it grants none here.
• If your lease says nothing about subletting or assignment, the common-law default favors you. The Florida Supreme Court held in Frissell v. Nichols (1927) that "Unless stipulated to the contrary, the right to assign is incidental to and runs with a lease." (Frissell) The Third DCA repeated the principle in Fernandez v. Vazquez (1981): "The law generally favors free alienation of property and under common law a tenant has the right to assign his leasehold interest without the consent of the lessor." (Fernandez)

The lease-silent case is less settled than that sounds. Florida attorneys split on it. The Orlando Law Group states subletting is "allowed unless it is expressly outlawed in the rental agreement" (Orlando Law Group), while Seward Law Office states the lease typically decides and Florida law does not expressly resolve it (Seward Law Office).

Neither statement is a court holding. No Florida District Court of Appeal or Attorney General opinion from 2020 through 2025 addressed a residential lease that was silent on subletting.

A silent lease also rarely stays silent on occupancy. The Florida Bar single-family form limits occupancy to the named tenant and specifically listed persons, so a landlord who cannot point to a no-sublet clause can often point to an occupancy clause instead and serve notice for an unauthorized guest.

When the landlord provides written landlord consent, the landlord and tenant avoid disputes over the lease language, but association rules and city restrictions may still block the arrangement. For the tenant, consent removes the argument over what the lease meant. For the owner, it creates the moment to screen the subtenant and set the dates. It also lets the owner put in writing that the original tenant stays liable.

If you're the tenant, your tenant rights under Part II, including deposit rules plus notice and anti-lockout protections, do not shrink because you sublet. Because no appellate court has squarely decided whether § 83.49 applies to sublessors, a prudent sublessor should follow those deposit rules and should also provide the required notices and protection from lockouts.

When can a landlord reasonably refuse a sublet?

When a lease contains a boilerplate consent clause without specific approval standards or express absolute-discretion language, a Florida landlord may consider financial or legal reasons but may not refuse solely out of preference or to force a rent increase. The Fourth DCA applied that rule to residential leases in Siewert v. Casey (2012): "A landlord's blanket refusal to consent to any sublease, when the lease provides that the landlord must give approval before a sublease can be created, is by definition unreasonable and therefore a violation of the covenant of good faith." (Siewert) An expressly drafted discretion clause may require separate analysis.

The standard comes from Fernandez v. Vazquez, which listed five factors a landlord may weigh: financial responsibility, the identity or character of the proposed occupant, whether the use requires alterations, the legality of the proposed use, and the nature of the occupancy. The same court named the reasons that fail: "Denying consent solely on the basis of personal taste, convenience or sensibility or in order that the landlord may charge a higher rent than originally contracted for have been held arbitrary reasons." (Fernandez) A landlord also cannot claim an unlimited veto under a consent clause with no stated standards and no express absolute-discretion language; the Second DCA in Speedway SuperAmerica v. Tropic Enterprises (2007) read an implied duty of good faith into it. (Speedway)

In practice, the reasons that hold up are the same ones you would use to deny any applicant. A credit report showing recent collections goes to financial responsibility. An eviction judgment does too. Income that cannot cover the rent also supports that concern.

A proposed use the zoning code forbids fits the legality factor. An occupancy limit may as well. HUD's Keating Memo describes two persons per bedroom as a generally reasonable but rebuttable guideline rather than a hard legal threshold for denial. (HUD Keating Memo) Refusing because you would rather not deal with a new name, or because market rent has moved up $200 since the lease was signed, fails under the standards described above.

A tenant's request should give the landlord what those factors require. A workable version:

I am the tenant at [address] under the lease dated [date]. I request your written consent to sublease [the entire unit / the second bedroom] to [subtenant's full name] from [start date] through [end date], which falls within my lease term. [Subtenant] has completed your rental application and authorized credit and background reports, including eviction history; I have attached the results. I understand I remain fully responsible for rent and for the condition of the premises under my lease. Please respond in writing by [date]. If you decline, please state the reason so I can address it.

Chapter 83 sets no deadline for the landlord to answer. The only processing deadline in Part II is § 83.683, which requires a landlord to process a servicemember's rental application within 7 days of submission. (§ 83.683)

Everyone else works from whatever the lease says, and most leases say nothing about a response deadline. That is why the request above proposes a date. A landlord who goes silent for weeks while the tenant has a qualified subtenant waiting is building the kind of record Siewert punishes when its standard applies.

Who is liable under a sublease?

The original tenant owes the landlord everything the lease promised, before, during, and after a sublease. The Third DCA in Tollius v. Dutch Inns of America (1970) held that "even if the lessor rightly refused to consent to an assignment of a sub-lease, under the terms of the lease the original lessee and all subsequent assignees remained liable for the payment of the rent." (Tollius) Only a novation releases the tenant, and Young v. Morris Realty Co. (1990) requires four elements for that: a valid prior contract, agreement of all parties to a new one, extinguishment of the original obligation, and a valid new contract. (Young) A landlord who signs a consent form has not agreed to a novation.

For the owner, that means you generally bring the contractual claim against the tenant named in your lease. If the subtenant stops paying, you serve the tenant. If the subtenant punches a hole in the drywall, the property damage claim goes against the tenant and the tenant's deposit. Section 83.52 supports that result by requiring the tenant to control the conduct of anyone on the premises with their consent. The subtenant is not your tenant and cannot be your defendant in a Chapter 83 eviction.

For the tenant, subletting means taking on the role of a landlord. Section 83.43 defines "landlord" to include a "lessor," and a sublessor is the lessor in the sub-relationship. One Florida legal analysis puts it directly: a sublessor who collects a deposit "step[s] into the landlord's shoes and must follow the same deposit-handling rules that apply to any Florida landlord." (LegalClarity)

A competing view holds that § 83.49 duties "still run between the landlord and the original tenant regardless of any private arrangement made below." (Florida Legal Templates) No Florida appellate decision has resolved the question. A sublessor who guesses wrong risks forfeiting the deposit claim, so the prudent course is to comply.

Under § 83.49, a prudent sublessor should use one of these holding methods:

• Holding method | Requirement
• Separate non-interest-bearing account | Hold the deposit at a Florida financial institution without commingling it
• Separate interest-bearing account | Hold the deposit at a Florida financial institution without commingling it and pay the tenant at least 75% of the annualized average rate or 5% simple interest per year
• Surety bond | Post a bond with the county circuit court clerk for the amount held or $50,000, whichever is less, and pay 5% simple interest

(§ 83.49)

Second, a prudent sublessor should disclose in the lease or within 30 days of receiving the deposit where the sublessor holds it and whether the sublessor owes interest. The Legislature exempts anyone renting fewer than five dwelling units from that disclosure requirement, which covers most sublessors. The holding and return duties carry no such exemption if § 83.49 applies.

Third, meet the return and claim deadlines:

• Situation | Requirement under § 83.49(3)
• No claim on the deposit | Return it, with any interest owed, within 15 days after the tenancy ends
• Claim intended | Send written notice by certified mail or by e-mail under § 83.505 within 30 days after the tenancy ends
• Subtenant objection | The subtenant has 15 days after receiving the claim notice to object in writing
• Late or missing claim notice | The sublessor forfeits the right to keep any of the deposit, though a separate damages suit remains available

The claim notice must be substantially in the statutory form, which begins "This is a notice of my intention to impose a claim for damages in the amount of ___ upon your security deposit, due to ___." (§ 83.49) The forfeiture rule is old and strict: Durene v. Alcime (Fla. 3d DCA 1983) barred a landlord who skipped the notice from touching the deposit while leaving the door open to sue for damages separately. (Florida Bar Journal)

Whoever wins a deposit lawsuit also collects court costs and a reasonable attorney's fee from the loser. That can turn a $1,500 deposit dispute into a much larger legal risk for the side that skipped a step.

What a legally sound Florida sublease agreement must include

A Florida sublease agreement should do two jobs at once: bind the subtenant to the master lease's rules and address Chapter 83 in the sublessor-subtenant relationship. Because no appellate court has squarely resolved whether § 83.49 applies to sublessors, the prudent approach is to draft the agreement for compliance. No statute prescribes the agreement's contents, so the document has to be complete on its own. It should cover:

• Full legal names of sublessor and subtenant, the unit address, and which rooms or areas the subtenant may use
• The term, with start and end dates that fall inside the master lease; a month-to-month sublease needs clear notice terms consistent with the governing lease and Florida law
• Rent, the due date, where the subtenant pays it, and the prorated amount owed when the subtenant moves in mid-month
• The deposit amount, the Florida financial institution where the sublessor holds it, and the § 83.49 return and claim language
• Utilities and maintenance responsibilities, including who reports repairs to the landlord, since the subtenant has no direct line to the owner
• A liability clause confirming the sublessor stays responsible under the master lease and the subtenant indemnifies the sublessor for damage the subtenant causes
• Attach the master lease and incorporate it by reference, so its occupancy and pet rules, along with parking terms, bind the subtenant
• Attach the landlord's signed written consent as an exhibit
• Any condominium or HOA rules and the association's approval if the governing documents require one

Negotiating the terms of the rental with a subtenant follows the same logic as any lease negotiation, with one difference: the sublessor cannot give away anything the master lease withholds.

Screening the subtenant is where sublessors get sloppy, and Florida law does not lower the bar for them. Section 83.425, effective July 1, 2023, preempts local screening rules to the state but mandates no vendor or fee. (§ 83.425) Federal law still applies. The steps:

1. Collect a detailed rental application with the applicant's current address and employer. Request income and prior-landlord information, along with written authorization to pull consumer reports. The FTC treats written permission as an acceptable basis for a permissible housing purpose under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. (FTC)
2. Run a credit report and an eviction report. If you also obtain a criminal-history report, apply a written fair-housing-compliant policy. TransUnion SmartMove charges the applicant $25 for SmartCheck Basic or $40 for SmartCheck Plus (SmartMove pricing); TurboTenant charges $55, or $45 on its Premium plan (TurboTenant).
3. Verify rental history by calling the prior landlord listed on the application, not the phone number the applicant offers as a reference.
4. Verify income against pay stubs or bank statements, and compare it to the sublease rent.
5. Send an adverse action notice if a consumer report contributed to an unfavorable decision, including a denial, a co-signer demand, a larger deposit, or higher rent. The notice must name the reporting agency and state that the agency did not make the decision. It must also explain the applicant's right to a free copy of the report within 60 days. If a credit score influenced the decision, the notice also has to disclose the score and its source. Include its date, the scoring range, and the key factors. (FTC)

Fair housing rules bind a sublessor too. Florida's Fair Housing Act bars decisions based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, familial status, or religion, and a rejected applicant has one year to file with the Florida Commission on Human Relations and two years to sue. (§ 760.35) HUD's 2016 guidance adds that a policy of excluding applicants for arrests without convictions "cannot satisfy its burden of showing that such policy or practice is necessary to achieve a substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest." (HUD criminal-record guidance)

Unauthorized subletting: 7-day notice to cure and eviction

A first unauthorized sublet that the tenant can end generally fits the curable framework under § 83.56(2)(b), so a Florida landlord's first legal move is usually a written 7-day notice to cure served on the tenant. The statute lists "having or permitting unauthorized pets, guests, or vehicles" as its examples of curable violations, and an unauthorized occupant is the closest statutory fit for a subtenant. (§ 83.56) The tenant cures by ending the arrangement and getting the subtenant out within the 7 days.

The formal notice must track the statutory language:

"You are hereby notified that (cite the noncompliance). Demand is hereby made that you remedy the noncompliance within 7 days of receipt of this notice or your lease shall be deemed terminated and you shall vacate the premises upon such termination. If this same conduct or conduct of a similar nature is repeated within 12 months, your tenancy is subject to termination without further warning and without your being given an opportunity to cure the noncompliance." (§ 83.56(2)(b))

A landlord may deliver notice under § 83.56(4) by mail or by handing over a true copy. If the tenant is absent, the landlord may leave a copy at the residence. The landlord may also use e-mail under § 83.505. Section 83.56 does not require certified mail.

The Legislature added e-mail delivery through ch. 2025-16, effective July 1, 2025. It works only when both parties signed an addendum agreeing to it and exchanged valid addresses. The Legislature states that a notice sent that way "is deemed delivered at the time it is sent, unless the e-mail is returned to the sender as undeliverable." (HB 615 analysis) The 7-day cure period has no exclusion for weekends or holidays, unlike the 3-day rent notice.

After the landlord delivers the cure notice, the 12-month period begins. If the tenant sublets again within 12 months of the written warning, § 83.56(2)(a) lets the landlord skip the cure step and serve a 7-day termination notice instead: "You are advised that your lease is terminated effective immediately. You shall have 7 days from the delivery of this letter to vacate the premises." The notice gives the tenant 7 days to vacate and no opportunity to cure.

The same no-cure path applies to intentional property damage. Starting October 1, 2026, it also applies to fraudulent entry of a dwelling under § 817.537(2), which the Legislature added through ch. 2026-143. (ch. 2026-143)

Landlords lose this remedy through two mistakes. First, accepting rent after you know about the sublet waives your right to terminate for that violation, though not for a later or continuing one. (§ 83.56(5))

Second, do not use self-help. Changing the locks or cutting the water on a subtenant exposes you under § 83.67 to the greater of actual and consequential damages or 3 months' rent, plus the tenant's attorney fees. A stranger living in your unit does not change that.

If the tenant neither cures nor leaves, the eviction process runs under summary procedure. You file in county court, the tenant has 5 days after service to answer, and "no other pleadings are permitted." (§ 51.011)

With no answer, you can move for default on the sixth day after service. The court does not need to hold a hearing before entering a final judgment. (Bay County packet) The clerk then issues a writ of possession. The sheriff removes occupants after posting 24 hours' notice. Weekends and holidays do not pause that period. (§ 83.62)

The Hillsborough County Clerk puts an uncontested eviction action at 3-6 weeks when the paperwork is clean and the tenant does not answer. (Hillsborough County Clerk) Florida eviction firm Kelley, Grant & Tanis reported in August 2025 that a contested case "often takes 2-3 months or more." (Kelley, Grant & Tanis) No court system in Florida tracks disposition time by eviction ground, so there is no official subletting-specific average.

For the tenant, the risks affect both leases. A repeat violation can terminate the master lease without a second chance, while the rent obligation survives the sublet whether or not the subtenant pays. The subtenant, who may have paid a deposit and moved a household in, loses the unit when the tenant does.

Association and city rules that override your lease

A lease that permits subletting can still be unusable if association documents or a city ordinance prohibit the arrangement. The state tax code also applies independently. Each layer applies on its own, and the private ones are the hardest to escape.

Condominium and HOA governing documents

Condominium declarations and HOA covenants bind owners directly, and Florida's short-term-rental preemption statute does not reach them. Section 509.032(7)(b) bars local governments from prohibiting vacation rentals or regulating their duration or frequency. The Florida Bar Journal confirms it "does not override private condominium or HOA governing documents." (Florida Bar Journal)

The Second DCA in Riviera-Fort Myers Master Association v. Florentine Development II (2020) upheld a declaration that prohibited subletting and required tenant approval as "reasonable limitations on use within the context of the condominium community." (Riviera-Fort Myers)

For condominiums, § 718.110(13) limits how a new rental restriction reaches existing owners: an amendment that bans rentals, changes rental duration, or caps rental frequency applies only to owners who consent and to buyers who take title after it passes. (§ 718.110)

An association may charge a lease transfer or screening fee only if the documents require approval and authorize the fee. The Legislature caps it at $150 per applicant. Spouses, or a parent and dependent child, count as one. The association may not charge a fee to renew with the same lessee. (DBPR) Board rules that go beyond the declaration have lost repeatedly in DBPR arbitration. In the King/Gemini case, a DBPR arbitrator invalidated a board-imposed one-year minimum and $250 fee.

HOAs run under § 720.306(1)(h). Rental restrictions enacted after July 1, 2021 apply only to owners who buy after the effective date or who consent, with one exception that reaches everyone: an association "may amend its governing documents to prohibit or regulate rental agreements for a term of less than 6 months and may prohibit the rental of a parcel for more than three times in a calendar year, and such amendments shall apply to all parcel owners." (§ 720.306)

An owner who bought in 2015 with no rental restriction can wake up in 2026 to a six-month minimum. That restriction can bind the owner without their individual consent after the association validly adopts the amendment. Neither Chapter 718 nor Chapter 720 sets a statutory cap on the number or percentage of units leased at once; caps come from the documents, if at all.

Miami Beach, Orlando, and Key West ordinances

Florida cities can take sharply different approaches to the same lease. Miami Beach and Key West adopted their regulations before June 1, 2011, which exempts them from the § 509.032 preemption entirely. (§ 509.032) The core rules for Miami Beach, Orlando, and Key West:

• City | What counts as short-term | Where the city allows it | Fees | Enforcement
• Miami Beach | Any rental shorter than six months and one day (City of Miami Beach) | The city prohibits it in all single-family districts and in RM-1, RM-PRD, RM-PRD-2, RPS-1, RPS-2, CD-1, RO, RO-3, and TH; the city permits it in commercial and higher-density districts such as CD2, CD3, RM2, RM3 (Code § 142-1111) | $80 STR business tax per unit, $63 BTR application, $35 resort tax registration (FY 2025 fee schedule) | $20,000 first violation, rising $20,000 each time to $100,000 and revocation of the Certificate of Use at the fifth; advertising a prohibited rental is itself evidence of violation
• Orlando | Fewer than 30 days (City of Orlando) | Home-sharing only: the resident must live on site and be present, one booking at a time, no more than half the unit; Orlando prohibits whole-unit rentals except in commercial dwelling units, hotels, or two-family dwellings (Orlando code) | $275 new registration; $100 annual renewal owner-occupied, $125 tenant-occupied (2026 fee schedule) | The city revokes registration for any violation
• Key West | 28 days or fewer is transient; 29 days or more is non-transient (City of Key West) | The city allows transient rentals only in HRCC-1, HRCC-3, HCT, HNC-1, and HNC-3, and only with a transient license; the city caps new licenses, which it says makes converting a home to transient use "very difficult, if not impossible" (City of Key West) | Every residential rental needs a city Business Tax Receipt; transfer of a transient license costs $5,871.21 | Truman Annex transient rights for roughly 300 owners expired December 22, 2025; those owners may no longer rent for less than a month (Florida Keys Weekly)

Orlando's rules matter most for subletting. A tenant who lists an entire Orlando apartment on Airbnb while living elsewhere is outside the home-sharing ordinance regardless of what the lease says, and the tenant-occupied renewal fee exists only for tenants who host from the unit they live in.

Sales and tourist taxes on rentals of six months or less

Florida taxes any rental of six months or less at 6% under § 212.03. Florida exempts rentals under a continuous residence agreement longer than six months. (§ 212.03) The Florida Department of Revenue administers the state tax. (DOR GT-800034)

Counties add a discretionary sales surtax of 0.5% to 2%, though some impose none. The $5,000 surtax cap that protects large purchases does not apply to transient rentals. (DOR) Counties may also levy a tourist development tax of 3% to 6% under § 125.0104. Most counties collect that tax themselves rather than through DOR. (DOR local option taxes)

That means a five-month sublease in a county at the top of both ranges carries 14% in tax on every rent payment, and the person collecting the rent owes it. A sublessor renting a room for one summer semester is a transient-rental taxpayer unless the term runs past six months.

Does listing on Airbnb or VRBO count as subletting in Florida?

A tenant who lists a rented unit on Airbnb or Vrbo is subletting under the lease and operating a public lodging establishment under Chapter 509, and both frameworks apply at once. Florida's 2026 Chapter 509 defines "operator" to include a "lessee," so tenants can hold a vacation rental license. (DBPR 2026 Ch. 509)

Before listing, check four separate requirements:

• Get any permission required by the lease and association documents, then check the local rules.
• Determine whether DBPR requires a vacation rental license.
• Confirm which state and county taxes the platform collects.
• Verify that your insurance covers short-term-rental activity.

DBPR requires a license when an operator rents a unit more than three times in a calendar year for periods under 30 days, or when someone advertises it as regularly rented that way. Renting individual rooms rather than the whole unit falls outside the license requirement, though local rules may still apply. (DBPR licensing guide) A single-unit license runs $170 per year plus a $50 application fee. (DBPR fees)

The platforms put responsibility for the lease problem on the host. Airbnb's terms effective April 20, 2026 warn that "Some landlords and leases, or homeowner and condominium association rules, restrict or prohibit subletting, short-term rentals and/or longer-term stays," and make the host responsible for complying with "contracts with third parties." (Airbnb Terms of Service)

Vrbo's host terms define "Host" to include "lessees" and require a warranty that listing "will not breach any agreements currently with third parties (i.e., owner's landlord, homeowners association, etc.)." (Vrbo host terms) Tampa's registration rules state outright that tenants "must receive permission from their landlord/owner." (Airbnb, Tampa)

The platforms handle part of the tax burden for you. Airbnb collects and remits the 6% state transient rental tax and county surtax on stays of 182 nights or shorter. It also collects tourist development tax in listed counties; hosts in unlisted counties remit county tax themselves. (Airbnb)

Vrbo's help page lists state tax and surtax collection for 22 Florida counties on stays under 184 nights. It also lists county TDT collection. A July 2026 analysis by floridasalestax.com states Vrbo does not collect county TDT for Florida hosts, a direct conflict with Vrbo's own page. (floridasalestax.com) HB 7031, which legislators filed for the 2026 session, would require every platform to collect all three taxes starting January 1, 2027. The Legislature has not enacted it.

Tenant-hosts often discover the insurance gap at claim time. Airbnb's Host Liability Insurance provides $1,000,000 per stay for bodily injury or property damage to guests and others. But it excludes damage to the host's own accommodation. It also excludes any property damage where "such host's liability for the property damage is assumed in a contract for lease of premises." (Airbnb HLI) A tenant whose lease makes them responsible for the unit's condition has assumed exactly that liability.

Host Damage Protection pays up to $3,000,000 per stay for guest-caused damage. Airbnb states the program "is not an insurance contract" and "does not take the place of insurance obtained or obtainable by you." (Airbnb Host Damage Protection)

A standard HO-4 renters policy excludes home-sharing liability unless an endorsement adds it, according to Insurance Journal. (Insurance Journal) The Insurance Information Institute's March 2026 outlook also notes that failing to meet permit, zoning, and operational rules "may restrict or even void existing coverages."

The owner faces the mirror image. A landlord policy written for a long-term tenant does not account for a rotating cast of weekend guests, and an unauthorized STR discovered after a claim is the kind of occupancy misrepresentation that ends badly. If you own a Florida rental and are deciding whether to allow short-term use, the policy has to say so. Steadily writes Florida landlord insurance for short-term rentals listed on Airbnb and VRBO, alongside long-term single-family and condo rentals. Get a quote in minutes at quote.steadily.com. No phone call required.

Residential vs commercial subleases in Florida

A commercial sublease in Florida runs under Chapter 83, Part I and the lease contract, and the tenant protections in Part II do not apply to it. Part I "applies to all tenancies not governed by part II," and Part II covers only "the rental of a dwelling unit." (§ 83.001) Neither part contains a sublease or consent section, so courts derive the consent standard in both settings from case law: Fernandez v. Vazquez for commercial leases, Siewert v. Casey for residential boilerplate consent clauses without specific approval standards.

The differences show up in what happens after a breach:

• Issue | Part I (commercial) | Part II (residential)
• Non-rent breach notice | 15-day written notice to cure under § 83.20, when the lease is silent or the tenancy is oral (§ 83.20) | 7-day cure notice or 7-day termination under § 83.56(2)
• Nonpayment notice | 3-day demand; a commercial landlord and tenant may waive it by express lease provision | 3-day demand excluding weekends and holidays; the parties cannot waive it
• Waiver of statutory rights | Part I contains no non-waiver provision | § 83.47 voids any waiver of Part II rights
• Landlord's lien | § 83.08 lien reaches property "of the lessee or sublessee" kept on the premises (§ 83.08) | No equivalent
• Holdover | Landlord may demand double rent under § 83.06 | No double-rent remedy
• Entry | The lease governs entry | Landlord must give 24 hours' notice and enter only between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. under § 83.53 (§ 83.53)
• Lockouts | The lease governs lockout rights | § 83.67 prohibits lockouts

The landlord's lien is the sharpest difference for a commercial subtenant. A retail tenant who subleases half its space and then defaults exposes the subtenant's inventory and equipment to the master landlord's lien, a risk that has no residential counterpart. The only 2020-2025 appellate decision on a commercial sublease clause, JF & LN, LLC v. Royal Oldsmobile-GMC Trucks (Fla. 2d DCA 2020), read a "may not be assigned or sublet in whole or in part without the prior written consent of Landlord" clause narrowly, applying it to the lease itself and not to a separate purchase option. (JF & LN)

FAQ

Florida tenants and owners commonly ask these questions once they understand that the lease generally determines permission.

Can you go to jail for subleasing in Florida?

No, not for subleasing itself. Subletting without permission when you hold a valid lease is a civil breach of that lease, usually handled through the § 83.56(2) notice and eviction process, and Florida law does not criminalize it. What Chapter 83 does say, in § 83.54, is that a civil remedy "does not preclude prosecution for a criminal offense related to the lease or leased property." (§ 83.54) Fraud can create criminal exposure; an ordinary unauthorized sublet remains a civil lease breach.

The line is authority and intent. Section 817.0311, effective July 1, 2024, makes it a first-degree felony to rent or lease property to another person "knowing that he or she has no lawful ownership in the property or leasehold interest in the property." (§ 817.0311) Presenting a fake lease to stay in a property is a first-degree misdemeanor under § 817.03(2). Collecting deposits through a pattern of false listings is an organized scheme to defraud under § 817.034, graded from a third-degree felony under $20,000 to a first-degree felony at $50,000 or more. (§ 817.034) Those statutes reach the Craigslist scammer who collected deposits on eight homes he had no right to rent; FDLE charged him in 2017 after finding a loss near $50,000. (FDLE) A tenant who has a real lease and rents a room without asking is in a different legal category entirely.

Can I kick out a roommate who isn't on the lease?

Not by changing the locks, whether you're the owner or the tenant. Section 83.67 prohibits self-help against anyone occupying a dwelling, and the penalty is actual and consequential damages or 3 months' rent, whichever is greater, plus attorney fees. (§ 83.67) Florida legal aid guidance is blunt on this point: the landlord must give official written notice, and no self-help eviction is permitted. (Florida Law Help)

If you're the owner, your remedy runs through your tenant. Serve the 7-day cure notice on the tenant for the unauthorized occupant, and if the tenant does not fix it, file against the tenant; the writ of possession removes everyone in the unit.

If you're the tenant and the roommate pays you rent, you are that roommate's landlord. The 2024 legislative analysis of HB 621 confirms that an invited guest who contributes to household expenses may be treated as a residential tenant "if a court decides that such an arrangement is a residential tenancy based on an agreement to pay 'rent' in exchange for occupancy." (HB 621 analysis) That means notice and a county-court filing, not a bag of belongings on the porch.

The sheriff-removal shortcut in § 82.036 is for unauthorized occupants with no rental agreement at all, and the Legislature excludes "current or former tenants pursuant to a written or oral rental agreement authorized by the property owner." Using it wrongly costs the owner triple the fair market rent plus fees. (§ 82.036)

How long can a tenant stay in Florida without paying rent?

An uncontested Florida eviction process often takes roughly three to six weeks when the paperwork is in order and the tenant does not answer. That estimate describes the overall uncontested process, not a guaranteed period measured from the date rent first becomes overdue. A contested case takes longer.

The sequence under Chapter 83 starts when the landlord serves a 3-day notice to pay or vacate under § 83.56(3). Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays do not count. Once the notice expires, the landlord files, and the tenant has 5 days after service to answer.

Under § 83.60(2), a tenant raising any defense other than payment must deposit the rent claimed into the court registry. Failing to do so within 5 days "constitutes an absolute waiver of the tenant's defenses other than payment" and entitles the landlord to an immediate default judgment. (§ 83.60) After the judge enters judgment, the clerk issues a writ, and the sheriff executes it 24 hours after posting.

Add those steps together and the Hillsborough County Clerk's 3-6 week estimate for an uncontested eviction is the realistic floor. A contested case runs 2-3 months or more, and Bay County's clerk notes that hearing dates depend entirely on the judge's calendar. A sublessor whose subtenant stops paying faces this same timeline, while the sublessor's own rent to the master landlord keeps coming due every month in between.