Oakland Park short term rental rules: what owners need, in order
Saturday, 11:00PM. A guest dials 911 from the house and the call goes nowhere, because there is no landline. In Oakland Park that phone is required, and so is a map by every bedroom door, and the inspector checks both every year. You did the hard part already: you found the house and furnished it. What's left are the city's rules. Oakland Park requires an annual registration for every vacation rental, caps every house at 8 guests no matter how many bedrooms it has, and charges $250 a day for violations. Registration is $500 the first year and $250 to renew. Here is every step, in order.
Updated 21 October 2026
Does the registration apply to you?
- It applies to any vacation rental as Florida defines it: a condo, or a house with one to four units, rented more than three times a year for stays under 30 days.
- It applies in every zoning district, not just residential ones.
- Condos and duplexes are covered. There is no condo ban in the city code, but your condo association may have its own rules.
- There is no minimum stay. A one-night booking is legal.
- Operating without a registration is a violation every day it continues.
The registration at a glance
- New registration: $500
- Renewal: $250
- Inspection: $150, plus $150 for each re-inspection
- Change of agent or other modification: $50 each
- Term: one year, renewed annually.
- Not transferable. If the house sells, the new owner has 30 days from closing to apply, and pays the $500 new registration.
- Applications are online through the city's Avenu Insights portal.
The 8-guest cap
This is the rule that catches owners out. The limit is whichever is lower:
- 2 guests per bedroom of 100 sq ft or more, plus 1 per bedroom of 70 to 99 sq ft, plus 2 more; or
- 8 guests in total.
In practice a 2 bedroom house sleeps 6, a 3 bedroom reaches 8, and anything bigger is still 8. A 5 bedroom listed for 12 is over the limit from the first booking. The cap does not apply if the owner lives in the house.
The person the city wants named
- A responsible agent, named on a city form. It can be you or someone you hire.
- The agent must answer the listed phone 24/7 for police, fire and emergency staff.
- City code staff only need a response Monday to Saturday, 9:00AM to 5:00PM.
- There is no rule on where the agent lives or how far away they are.
- You stay responsible. The city is explicit that you can't hand compliance to the agent, and you answer for what the agent does.
The steps, in order
The city registration comes last, because it asks for copies of everything before it.
1. State registrations, in the owner's name
- Florida Department of Revenue certificate of registration, listing the property address.
- DBPR vacation rental license, if the property needs one.
2. Broward County
- Tourist Development Tax account. Airbnb collects and remits Broward's tourist tax on its bookings, but the county still requires the account, and direct bookings are on you.
3. The Oakland Park registration. File online through Avenu Insights. You'll need:
- The registration form and the $500 fee.
- An exterior sketch showing the structures, pool or spa, fencing and the off-street parking spaces.
- An interior sketch of each floor showing the bedrooms, exits, halls and stairs. Both sketches can be hand drawn.
- The number of bedrooms you'll use.
- A list of every site where the property is advertised.
- If you're renting a house you lease rather than own, the owner must sign a notarized affidavit accepting liability for all fines.
4. The inspection
- Required after the first registration and every year after each renewal.
- If the city asks for an inspection, the house must be available within 20 days of the written notice, or each day after counts as a violation.
What must be posted in the house
The inspector checks for each of these:
- A landline that can dial 911. The inspection form accepts VoIP.
- The owner or agent's name, address and phone number.
- The maximum number of guests.
- The maximum number of vehicles, with a sketch of the parking.
- The trash and recycling pickup days.
- The location of the nearest hospital.
- The city's ordinance excerpt.
- A statement that guests must leave on any evacuation order.
- An evacuation map, at least 8.5 x 11 inches, on the inside of every bedroom door.
The form also checks for a 10 lb ABC fire extinguisher with a current tag, plus smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
The house rules the city enforces
- Noise: 60 dBA from 7:00AM to 10:00PM and 55 dBA from 10:00PM to 7:00AM, measured at the neighbor's property line.
- Parking: no more cars than the spaces on your parking sketch plus other legal spaces. No parking on the grass in single family zones.
- Trash: bins off the swale by 11:00PM on pickup day. Bulk trash goes out no more than 48 hours before collection.
Penalties
- $250 a day per violation for a first offence.
- Up to $500 a day for repeat offences.
- $175 administrative fee on top.
Where owners get caught
- Listing a 4 or 5 bedroom for 10 or more guests when the cap is 8.
- Counting a small room as a full bedroom. Under 100 sq ft, it adds 1 guest, not 2.
- No landline. A cell phone left in a drawer doesn't count.
- Leaving a listing off the advertising list on the application.
- Buying a registered house and assuming the registration came with it. The new owner has 30 days to apply.
- Filing with the city before the state and county registrations exist.
Want this handled?
We co-host in Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors and Pompano Beach, all next door to Oakland Park. We file every step above, in the right order, set up the postings the inspector looks for, and act as your 24/7 agent.