Cape Canaveral vacation rental rules

Cape Canaveral regulates vacation rentals through its Vacation Rental and Inspection Program, which began on October 1, 2021, under Ordinance No. 10-2021 and Section 110-486 of the City Code (Cape Canaveral Vacation Rentals page).

The city's general FAQ sums up the core of Section 110-486: vacation rentals in Cape Canaveral must comply with the seven (7) day minimum stay, must have a Business Tax Receipt on record with the city, must provide adequate on-site parking and must comply with life and safety standards. Contact information has to be provided for violations of city noise or parking rules, and either Code Enforcement or the Brevard County Sheriff's Office can enforce those rules (City of Cape Canaveral FAQs).

State law frames what a Florida city such as Cape Canaveral may do with vacation rentals. Under Florida Statutes section 509.242, a vacation rental is any unit or group of units in a condominium or cooperative, or any individually or collectively owned single-family, two-family, three-family or four-family house or dwelling unit, that is also a transient public lodging establishment but is not a timeshare project. Under the preemption subsection of Florida Statutes section 509.032, a local law, ordinance or regulation may not prohibit vacation rentals or regulate the duration or frequency of rental of vacation rentals, and that paragraph does not apply to any local law, ordinance or regulation adopted on or before June 1, 2011. The same subsection keeps local authority to inspect lodging for compliance with the Florida Building Code and the Florida Fire Prevention Code.

Two uses are banned outright in Cape Canaveral. It is unlawful to rent or offer for rent individual rooms or groups of rooms apart from the entire dwelling unit or house as a vacation rental, and a vacation rental may not be used or advertised for any commercial or nonresidential use, including use primarily as a party, event or entertainment venue or social hall (Cape Canaveral Vacation Rental FAQ).

Business Tax Receipt first, registration second: new Cape Canaveral vacation rentals must obtain a Local Business Tax Receipt directly from the city and then register online through the city's Deckard Vacation Rental Permit Registration portal (Cape Canaveral Vacation Rental FAQ).

A Cape Canaveral vacation rental needs both a city and a county Business Tax Receipt. The city receipt is applied for at City Hall, by email to btr@capecanaveral.gov or by calling 321-868-1220 ext 140; the annual fee is a $25 base fee plus $2.50 per unit, with a one-time application fee of $30.00 (Cape Canaveral Vacation Rental FAQ). City receipts are valid for one year on the city's fiscal year, October 1 to September 30, and automatic renewal notices are mailed to each holder by September 1 of each year (Cape Canaveral Vacation Rental FAQ). Only after the city receipt is issued does the owner apply for the county receipt from the Brevard County Tax Collector, bringing the Cape Canaveral receipt along; the FAQ gives the county line as (321) 264-6969, option 5 (Cape Canaveral Vacation Rental FAQ).

City Hall is at 100 Polk Avenue, where Business Tax Receipt applications can be picked up between 8:30 am and 5:00 pm Monday through Friday except holidays (Cape Canaveral Business Tax Receipt page). The application must be completed in full, including date opened, number of employees, the FEIN or owner's Social Security number and the nature of the business. Any business regulated by the State of Florida must provide a current copy of the state license before the receipt is issued or renewed (Cape Canaveral Business Tax Receipt page). When a rental property changes hands, a new application with the new owner's information is required, along with a copy of the bill of sale or the new deed (Cape Canaveral Business Tax Receipt page).

The registration packet itself asks for a copy of the current transient public lodging license issued by Florida DBPR, if the registrant needs one; the current city receipt; evidence of an active Brevard County Tax Collector account for tourist development taxes; an exterior site sketch that shows the house, pools, spas, fencing and delineated off-street parking spaces; an interior sketch by floor showing bedrooms, exits, hallways and stairways; and the legal address as shown by the Brevard County Property Appraiser. Both sketches may be hand drawn (Cape Canaveral Vacation Rental FAQ).

Annual registration is $300.00 per unit non-homesteaded or $200.00 homesteaded in the city's current column, and $450.00 or $300.00 in its increased column dated October 1, 2025 (Cape Canaveral Vacation Rentals page).

The same two columns appear on the Cape Canaveral Vacation Rental FAQ, which calls the higher figures the fees as of October 1, 2025, and on the Cape Canaveral Vacation Rentals page under the heading that fees are increasing on October 1, 2025. That date has passed, yet the Vacation Rentals page still labels the lower figures current cost and the FAQ still lists them first as the fee structure. Neither page says which column applies to a renewal billed now, so both are reported here.

These program fees sit on top of the city Business Tax Receipt, which is a $25 base fee plus $2.50 per unit a year, with a one-time $30.00 application fee (Cape Canaveral Vacation Rental FAQ). Operating without registering carries its own schedule: a penalty of $100.00 for the first offense, $250.00 for the second and $500.00 for each subsequent offense (Cape Canaveral Vacation Rental FAQ).

Between 8 and 14 overnight occupants over age five, depending on the square footage under enclosed roof and air, under Section 110-486(d) of the Cape Canaveral City Code (Cape Canaveral Vacation Rental FAQ).

The FAQ says the code sets maximum overnight occupancy for occupants over the age of five years old by the number of bedrooms and the square footage under enclosed roof and air, plus two additional occupants per unit, and then lists four size bands (Cape Canaveral Vacation Rental FAQ):

• Eight occupants for a dwelling unit or house not exceeding 2,000 square feet.
• Ten occupants between 2,001 and 3,000 square feet.
• Twelve occupants between 3,001 and 4,500 square feet.
• Fourteen occupants over 4,500 square feet.

Those bands are ceilings, not guarantees. The Florida Building Code and Fire Prevention Code may require a stricter and lower occupancy if the city's Fire Inspector or Building Official decides so (Cape Canaveral Vacation Rental FAQ). The exact figure for a given Cape Canaveral unit, together with its maximum number of parking spaces, appears on the Vacation Rental Safety and Information Notice that the owner downloads after completing registration (Cape Canaveral Vacation Rental FAQ).

Cape Canaveral may inspect a rental annually or as needed, the unit must be available within 20 days of notice, and violations must be fixed within 10 business days (Cape Canaveral Vacation Rental FAQ).

Those inspections check compliance with city code, the Florida Building Code, the Florida Fire and Life Safety Codes and the International Property Maintenance Code (Cape Canaveral Vacation Rental FAQ).

Owners in Cape Canaveral must also keep a log of all bookings for three years, showing the booking date and number of occupants of each rental, and make it available to the city (Cape Canaveral Vacation Rental FAQ). Questions about inspections go to Canaveral Fire Rescue Fire Inspection at (321) 783-4777 ext. 308 or to the City of Cape Canaveral Code Enforcement Department at (321) 868-1220 ext. 115 (Cape Canaveral Vacation Rental FAQ).

Inside the unit, a Vacation Rental Safety and Information Notice must be posted in a prominent, conspicuous location. According to the FAQ it lists the owner or agent's name, address and phones; the maximum overnight occupancy; the Cape Canaveral address and phone of the Brevard County Sheriff's Office and Canaveral Fire Rescue; code excerpts on sea turtles and sea turtle lighting, loud noises, walking dogs, and beach, park and nuisance rules; the maximum number of vehicles with a parking sketch; trash and recycling days; and the nearest hospital (Cape Canaveral Vacation Rental FAQ).

Owners do not have to draft the notice from scratch: the FAQ says it becomes available to download once Deckard registration is complete, already filled in with the unit's own parking and occupancy limits, and the city page links an example of the format (Cape Canaveral Vacation Rental FAQ).

Through the city's online complaint system, its 24/7 hotline at 321-328-0552, or Code Enforcement at (321) 868-1220; Cape Canaveral pages list all of these routes (Cape Canaveral Vacation Rental FAQ; City of Cape Canaveral FAQs).

The city pages are not identical. The Vacation Rental FAQ says to report a non-conforming vacation rental to the 24/7 hotline at 321-328-0552 or online through the Complaints STR System, and separately says complaints can go to Code Enforcement by email at codeenforcement@cityofcapecanaveral.org, by telephone at (321) 868-1220 or through the city's online reporting tool (Cape Canaveral Vacation Rental FAQ). The general FAQ points complainants to the Deckard complaint page for Cape Canaveral (City of Cape Canaveral FAQs). The two FAQs also print different Code Enforcement email domains: cityofcapecanaveral.org in the Vacation Rental FAQ and codeenforcement@capecanaveral.gov in the general FAQ's answer on liens (Cape Canaveral Vacation Rental FAQ; City of Cape Canaveral FAQs).

Names are required. Both city FAQs warn that Florida law does not allow anonymous complaints to be acted on (Cape Canaveral Vacation Rental FAQ; City of Cape Canaveral FAQs). The rule comes from Florida Statutes section 162.06: a code inspector may not initiate enforcement proceedings for a potential violation by way of an anonymous complaint, and a person who reports one must give his or her name and address to the local government before an enforcement proceeding may occur, unless the inspector has reason to believe the violation presents an imminent threat to public health, safety or welfare or imminent destruction of habitat or sensitive resources.

Last verified: October 21, 2026, against fresh reads of the Cape Canaveral Vacation Rentals fee table, the Vacation Rental FAQ, the city's Business Tax Receipt page and general FAQ, and Florida Statutes sections 509.032, 509.242 and 162.06.