A Florida short-term rental agreement PDF needs to do more than confirm dates and a price. To hold up, it has to identify the property and the DBPR license, itemize rent and taxes, disclose how the security deposit is held under Section 83.49, spell out the cancellation policy, and satisfy any provisions your city or county requires. Everything else in the document is built around those anchors.
Core Terms the Agreement Must Contain
Florida does not dictate contract wording for vacation rentals at the state level, so the document controls almost everything about the stay. A thin template leaves the owner exposed. A workable agreement covers the following in dedicated fields.
Property and parties. The property address exactly as it appears on the deed, the DBPR license number, the owner or management company, and the full names and contact details of every adult guest. Many local ordinances also want the names and ages of all occupants, vehicle plate numbers, and the maximum occupancy allowed under the rental certificate.
Dates and times. Exact arrival and departure dates with specific check-in and check-out times. Precise times prevent overlap between bookings and give cleaners a real turnaround window. Any early-arrival or late-departure fee belongs in the same section.
Itemized charges. The nightly rate, the total rental charge, cleaning fees, all applicable taxes broken out on their own lines, and any other mandatory charges. Guests routinely underestimate what Florida taxes add to the bill, and a clear breakdown reduces disputes at checkout. List the payment methods you accept on the same page.
House rules. Noise limits, parking rules, trash schedules, and pool or hot tub safety requirements go in the signed document, not just in a welcome binder. If the property sits in an HOA, incorporate or attach the association rules that apply to guests. For pools, docks, or waterfront access, add a liability acknowledgment describing the risks tied to those features.
Cancellation and refund policy. No Florida statute sets these terms for vacation rentals, so whatever you write is what governs. A sliding scale is common: full refund beyond 60 days, partial at 30, none inside two weeks. Whatever numbers you choose, they need to be in the signed agreement to be enforceable.
Security Deposit Language Florida Law Requires
This is the clause owners get wrong most often. Florida Statute 83.49 controls how deposits are held, disclosed, and returned, and missing a step can cost the owner the right to keep any of it.1The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 83.49 – Deposit Money or Advance Rent; Duty of Landlord and Tenant
Deposit funds must sit in one of three places: a separate non-interest-bearing account at a Florida financial institution, a separate interest-bearing account where the tenant receives at least 75% of the annualized average interest or 5% simple interest (owner’s choice), or a surety bond posted with the clerk of the circuit court for the total deposits held or $50,000, whichever is less. Deposits cannot be commingled with the owner’s personal or business funds.
The owner must disclose in writing, either in the lease or within 30 days of receiving the money, how and where the deposit is being held. Putting that disclosure directly in the PDF is the cleanest way to comply.
On the return side, if there is no claim against the deposit, the full amount plus any required interest goes back within 15 days after the rental period ends. If the owner intends to withhold any portion, written notice by certified mail or email must go out within 30 days, stating the amount claimed and the reason, and telling the guest they have 15 days to object in writing. Miss the 30-day window and the owner forfeits the right to claim against the deposit entirely.
Short-term timelines make this tight. A guest who checks out Sunday starts a 15-day clock that same day. Build the notice into your post-checkout workflow with calendar reminders.
Taxes to Itemize on the Document
The owner, not the guest, is legally responsible for remitting these, but the PDF should show them clearly so the total on the invoice matches what the guest pays.
Florida imposes a 6% state sales tax on the total rental charge for transient accommodations, which typically extends to cleaning fees and other mandatory charges.2The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 212.03 – Transient Rentals Tax The Florida Department of Revenue oversees collection, and late remittance draws penalties and interest.
On top of that, most counties add a local tourist development tax on rentals of six months or less. Rates run from 0% in a handful of rural counties up to 7% in parts of Miami-Dade.3Florida Department of Revenue. Local Option Transient Rental Tax Rates In popular destinations like Orange County (Orlando) or Monroe County (the Keys), the combined burden easily tops 12%. Confirm your county’s specific rate on the Department of Revenue’s published chart before finalizing the template.4Florida Department of Revenue. Local Option Taxes
The DBPR License Number Belongs on the Agreement
Every short-term rental in Florida must be licensed before a guest checks in. Florida Statute 509.241 requires each public lodging establishment to obtain a license from the Division of Hotels and Restaurants under the DBPR. Operating without one is a second-degree misdemeanor.5The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 509.241 – Licenses; Annual Renewals
The threshold: any dwelling rented more than three times in a calendar year for stays under 30 consecutive days is a “transient public lodging establishment,” and so is any property advertised or held out to the public as available for short stays, even before a third booking.6The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 509.013 – Definitions Simply listing on a booking platform can trigger the requirement.
Applications run through myfloridalicense.com. Owners choose a classification based on how many units they operate: “single” covers one to four units in the same building, “group” covers multiple units in one complex, and “collective” covers up to 75 units at different addresses within one district.7Florida DBPR. Apply for a New Vacation Rental – Dwelling License Put the license number on the agreement itself and in any advertising.
Pet Fees and the Service-Animal Boundary
Owners can generally set their own pet rules: no pets, breed restrictions, non-refundable pet fees. Two federal laws override those rules in specific situations, and the template should reflect that.
A service animal trained to perform a task for a person with a disability is not a pet under federal law. Owners cannot charge pet fees or deposits for service animals, cannot demand documentation, and can ask only two questions: whether the animal is required because of a disability and what task it has been trained to perform. The guest is still responsible for any damage the animal causes, so a general damage clause still applies. A pet-specific surcharge does not.8U.S. Department of Justice. Frequently Asked Questions About Service Animals and the ADA
The Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3604 – Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing How broadly it reaches vacation rentals is nuanced, and hotel-style stays are generally treated differently than longer-term housing. Advertising and screening should avoid language that could read as discriminatory, and reasonable accommodation requests from guests with disabilities should be taken seriously. The agreement itself should never reference preferences tied to protected characteristics.
Local Rules That Can Override Your Template
Florida Statute 509.032 blocks local governments from prohibiting vacation rentals or dictating how often or how long a property can be rented, but the preemption does not touch local laws that were on the books before June 1, 2011.10The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 509.032 – Duties Cities and counties with older restrictions can still enforce them.
Regardless of that cutoff, local governments can regulate noise, parking, trash, occupancy caps, and safety inspections. Some require specific provisions in the rental agreement: maximum occupancy per the rental certificate, names and ages of all occupants, vehicle information, evacuation instructions. Call your city or county code enforcement office before finalizing a template so the PDF satisfies whatever they require.
Where to Get a Template and How to Sign It
Fillable PDF templates are available through the Florida Realtors association, the DBPR, and various legal document services. Municipal websites in areas with active vacation rental ordinances sometimes publish local versions that already incorporate jurisdiction-specific requirements. Whichever template you start from, confirm it has dedicated fields for the DBPR license number, the itemized tax breakdown, the Section 83.49 deposit disclosure language, and your cancellation policy.
Once every field is filled in, the agreement needs signatures from all adult guests. Florida’s adoption of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act at Section 668.50 gives electronic signatures the same legal weight as ink; a contract cannot be denied enforceability just because it was signed electronically.11The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 668.50 – Uniform Electronic Transaction Act E-signature platforms that generate time-stamped audit trails add documentation that matters if a dispute reaches court. Florida does not require a notary for short-term rental agreements.
Send every guest a fully executed copy right after signing. For electronic agreements, an automatic email with the signed PDF attached handles it cleanly.
Keep the Signed Agreement
The Department of Revenue can audit sales tax and tourist development tax collections going back at least three years, with longer lookback periods if a return was substantially incorrect or never filed. Retain signed rental agreements, tax remittance records, deposit documentation, and guest correspondence for at least three years after each rental period. Many experienced property managers keep records for five years as a buffer against late-filed disputes or insurance claims. Group files digitally by rental period so an audit or complaint years later does not turn into a scavenger hunt.