Pinellas County · Florida
Clearwater Vacation Rental Market
Clearwater restricts short-term rentals by zoning district. The picture we have is that stays under about a month are effectively limited to the Tourist District and certain commercial zoning, with residential zones held to a one-month minimum. We could not open the Clearwater Community Development Code text directly, so we are publishing this as unverified rather than stating it as fact. If you are buying on the strength of nightly rental income here, confirm the zoning of the specific parcel with the city first.
Rules last checked September 10, 2026
Can you operate a short-term rental here?
Restricted by zoning district — needs verification
Minimum stay
Reported one calendar month in residential zoning
City registration required
Not confirmed
Taxes
13% total — 6% state sales tax, 1% Pinellas surtax, 6% county tourist development tax
Revenue and occupancy
Not published yetWe do not publish revenue, ADR or occupancy figures for Clearwater. No sourced benchmark, and the zoning question decides the answer before the numbers do.
Model it with your own assumptionsWhat owners run into here
Clearwater Beach and the mainland behave like two different markets, and the zoning district on the deed matters more than the postcode. Owners get caught out buying a residential-zoned house near the beach and assuming nightly renting comes with it.
County and jurisdiction notes
Unincorporated Pinellas County properties near Clearwater fall under Pinellas Ordinance 25-15 and its Certificate of Use programme instead of city rules. Confirm which jurisdiction the parcel sits in.
See the full Clearwater rulesThinking about renting out a Clearwater property?
Send us the address and we will tell you what we think it can do, what the local rules require, and whether co-hosting makes sense for you.