Questions this page answers
- 1.Can you Airbnb a downtown St. Pete condo?
- 2.What rental terms work in a downtown condo?
- 3.How do you check condo rental rules before you offer?
- 4.Will a rental condo cash flow?
- 5.Downtown towers buyers compare in 2026
- 6.Is a lower HOA fee the safer choice?
- 7.New construction vs resale
- 8.Waldorf Astoria vs 400 Central
…and 8 more sections below.
Can you Airbnb a downtown St. Pete condo? Not as a year-round nightly rental. The city allows stays under 30 days only three times in any 365 days unless the property is a licensed hotel or motel or sits in a Resort Facilities Overlay. Check the condo's lease rules, reserves and assessments before you compare prices.
I'm Troy Nowak, broker at Mangrove Bay Realty in downtown St. Pete. I live in downtown St. Pete and sell downtown condos. I'm an Airbnb Superhost, and I own and manage short-term and furnished rentals, and this guide covers what I check before a client buys a downtown condo to rent out.
Can you Airbnb a downtown St. Pete condo?
Only in a narrow way. In St. Petersburg, a property can be rented for under 30 days up to three times in any 365-day period. Short stays beyond that must operate as a licensed hotel or motel or be in an approved Resort Facilities Overlay district (City of St. Petersburg transient accommodation handout). The city's handout says no property in St. Petersburg has that overlay yet.
The condo's own declaration and rules come next, and they can be stricter than the city. For the city rule, the Gulfport rule and zoning detail, read can you Airbnb in St. Pete. For rental markets across the county, see the short-term rentals hub.
What rental terms work in a downtown condo?
Stays of 30 days or more fall outside the city's limit. That leaves monthly furnished rentals and longer leases as the main legal options. The condo rules still have to allow them.
Florida taxes rentals of 6 months or less in a condominium. A bona fide written lease for continuous residence longer than 6 months is not taxed (section 212.03, Florida Statutes). A furnished monthly rental still collects tax. For the Pinellas rates, read Pinellas County Airbnb taxes.
| Rental plan | City under-30-day limit | Florida rental tax | Condo rules to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nightly or weekly | Up to 3 stays a year, unless hotel, motel or Resort Facilities Overlay | Taxed | Minimum lease term usually rules this out |
| Monthly furnished, 30 days to 6 months | Outside the limit | Taxed | Minimum lease, number of leases per year, approval |
| Lease longer than 6 months | Outside the limit | Not taxed under a bona fide written lease | Approval, lease registration, any first-year rule |
How do you check condo rental rules before you offer?
Read the condo documents, not the listing remarks. Ask the seller for the declaration, bylaws, rules and the last 12 months of board minutes. Then look for the minimum lease term, leasing caps, tenant approval and any pending rental amendment.
What to note from each document:
- Minimum lease term and how many times a unit can be leased each year
- Whether the board must approve each tenant, and how long approval takes
- Any rule that limits leasing in the first year after you buy
- Pending amendments in the minutes or a recent owner vote
Under Florida law, an amendment that restricts rentals applies only to owners who consented to it and to anyone who takes title after it takes effect (section 718.110). Owners who did not consent keep their old rental rights. Those rights do not pass to you when you buy. If you are selling, tell buyers which rules apply to them, not to you.
Will a rental condo cash flow?
It depends on costs the listing rarely shows: the HOA fee, reserves, assessments, insurance, tax and vacancy. Get those from the building's documents before you trust a rent estimate.
These are the inputs I'd collect first.
| Input | Where to get it |
|---|---|
| Monthly HOA fee | Current budget |
| Reserve contributions, including SIRS items | Budget and latest SIRS |
| Special assessments, approved or under discussion | Estoppel certificate, board minutes |
| Master insurance renewal | Association; ask the renewal date and last premium change |
| HO-6 unit policy and flood insurance | Your insurance agent, quoted for rental use |
| Property tax | Pinellas County Property Appraiser record for the unit |
| Rental tax, if 6 months or less | Pinellas County Airbnb taxes |
| Vacancy, furnishing, cleaning and management | Your own plan for the rental term the condo allows |
Insurance is the line most likely to move. Citizens Property Insurance approved average increases for policies effective on or after July 1, 2026. Condo association multiperil policies rose 7.7% and wind-only policies 14.1% (Citizens). A building with a private carrier gets its own renewal.
Some loans are based on rental income, such as DSCR loans. To see how lenders look at condos, read how to finance a short-term rental in Pinellas. For returns and strategy, see the investor guide.
Downtown towers buyers compare in 2026
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins are placed from street addresses and are approximate.
| Building | Address | What public reporting says |
|---|---|---|
| The Residences at 400 Central | 400 Central Ave | 46 stories, 515 feet, 301 condos; move-ins were scheduled to start in December 2025 under a temporary certificate of occupancy for the first 25 floors (St Pete Rising) |
| Art House | 275 1st Ave S | 42 stories, 244 condos, more than 85% sold when the first closings began in November 2025 (St Pete Rising) |
| Waldorf Astoria Residences | 150 2nd Ave S | 50 stories, 163 condos; groundbreaking expected by the end of 2026, completion planned for 2030 (St Pete Rising, June 10, 2026) |
| Saltaire | 301 1st St S | 35 stories, 408 feet (St Pete Rising) |
| ONE St. Petersburg | 100 1st Ave N | 450 feet (St Pete Rising) |
| Ovation | 180 Beach Dr NE | |
| Bayfront Tower | 1 Beach Dr SE | 29 stories, 250 units, built in 1975 (St Pete Catalyst) |
| Vinoy Place | 555 5th Ave NE |
More towers are planned. Kolter Urban has circulated a site plan for the Hilton Bayfront site at 333 1st St S. It shows two 44-story towers with 325 condos (St Pete Rising, October 12, 2026).
Is a lower HOA fee the safer choice?
Not by itself. Florida condo budgets must fund reserves for the items in the structural integrity reserve study (SIRS). This applies to budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024. Owners generally can't vote to fund those items below the required level or spend those reserves on anything else (section 718.112). A low fee can mean low reserves, an insurance renewal still to come, or a loan paying for repairs.
| What you see | What to ask |
|---|---|
| Monthly fee well below similar towers | Is the SIRS done, and does the budget fund it in full? |
| Reserve balance small for the building size | What does the SIRS say is due in the next few years? |
| Board minutes mention a loan or a line of credit | How much, for what work, and how do owners repay it? |
| Insurance line flat for two years | When does the master policy renew? |
New construction vs resale
Florida law treats the two differently, and the difference shows up in your deposit and your right to cancel.
| Topic | Buying from the developer | Buying a resale unit |
|---|---|---|
| Right to cancel | Voidable within 15 days after you sign and receive all required documents (718.503) | Voidable within 7 days, not counting weekends and legal holidays, after you sign and receive the required documents (718.503) |
| Your deposit | Up to 10% of the price goes into escrow; amounts above 10% go into a special escrow account, and if the contract allows it, the developer can use them for construction once building has begun (718.202) | Held by the escrow agent named in the contract |
| Rental history | None yet; rental rules are set in the developer's documents | Past leasing, approvals and any amendments are on record |
| Price evidence | Developer price sheet, few or no resales | Sold history in the same tower |
Waldorf Astoria vs 400 Central
These two get compared most because both are tall, both are high profile and they sit a few blocks apart. They are at different stages.
| Item | 400 Central | Waldorf Astoria Residences | Saltaire |
|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Move-ins scheduled from December 2025 (temporary certificate of occupancy, first 25 floors) | Pre-construction; groundbreaking expected by end of 2026 (June 2026 reporting) | Completed tower, resale |
| Height | 46 stories, 515 feet | 50 stories | 35 stories, 408 feet |
| Condos | 301 | 163 | n/a |
| What you are buying | A finished unit you can walk and inspect | A contract and a deposit under the 718.202 escrow rules | A unit with a sold and rental history |
Sources: building facts from the St Pete Rising articles linked above. Rental rules for each tower come from its own documents, so ask for them before you compare.
How do you check a milestone inspection and SIRS?
Ask the seller for the milestone inspection summary and the latest SIRS, or a statement that none exists. Both are on the resale document list (718.503). Then check the association in the DBPR SIRS Reporting Database.
The milestone inspection applies to condo buildings three habitable stories or taller. It is due by December 31 of the year the building turns 30, then every 10 years. The local enforcement agency can require it at 25 years based on local conditions, including nearness to salt water (section 553.899). The SIRS deadline for older associations was December 31, 2025. A combined milestone and SIRS was allowed no later than December 31, 2026 (718.112; DBPR condo FAQ). HB 913 (2025) took effect July 1, 2025 (Florida Senate). HB 657 (2026) passed the House. It died in the Senate Rules Committee on March 13, 2026 (Florida Senate).
Associations with 25 or more units must post inspection reports and the SIRS on their website or app (718.111). That area is for owners, so ask the seller for access.
Can you get a mortgage if the inspection is not done?
Ask your lender before you sign, and name the building. Fannie Mae's Selling Guide makes loans in a project ineligible when it needs critical repairs. These include repairs that significantly affect safety, soundness, structural integrity or habitability. They also include unfunded repairs over $10,000 per unit that should be done within 12 months. Repairs funded through a special assessment don't count toward that test. A project marked Unavailable in Fannie Mae's Condo Project Manager is also ineligible (Fannie Mae B4-2.1-03).
If you plan to rent the unit, ask the lender how rentals and any condo-hotel features affect eligibility. Rental financing options are in how to finance a short-term rental in Pinellas. For an FHA loan, check the building on the HUD condominium lookup.
Who pays for insurance increases and special assessments?
Owners do, through the budget or a special assessment. Bayfront Tower shows how large repair bills can get in an older downtown tower. At a 2023 Pinellas County Commission meeting, a commissioner said the building needed about $45 million in repairs. The Tampa Bay Times reported documents that listed post tension cables, exterior framing, stucco, garage concrete and the roof (St Pete Catalyst, August 31, 2023). Get the current figure for any unit from the association, not from a listing or a blog.
Assessments a buyer can inherit
| Situation | Who pays |
|---|---|
| Assessment already due and unpaid at closing | You and the seller are jointly liable; you can recover from the seller (718.116) |
| Assessment coming due after you take title | You, as the owner when it comes due (same section) |
| Approved but payable in installments | Negotiate it in the contract; the estoppel certificate lists what is owed and what is scheduled |
The association must issue an estoppel certificate within 10 business days of a request (718.116). Order it early.
How do you buy a downtown St. Pete condo from out of state?
Most of the work is reading documents, which you can do from anywhere. The 7-day resale cancellation window, not counting weekends and legal holidays, runs from when you sign and have the required documents. Ask for them before or right when you sign.
| Document | Where it comes from | Why it matters for a rental |
|---|---|---|
| Declaration, bylaws and rules | Seller | Minimum lease, approval, leasing caps |
| Board minutes, last 12 months | Seller or association | Pending rental amendments, assessments, loans |
| Budget and latest financial statement | Seller | Reserve funding, insurance cost |
| Milestone summary and latest SIRS | Seller | Future repair costs |
| Estoppel certificate | Association | Exact amounts owed and scheduled |
| Flood disclosure | Seller | Required at or before signing (689.302) |
| Master insurance policy summary | Association | Coverage, deductibles, renewal date |
How do you check flood history for a downtown condo?
Start with the address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. Then read the seller's flood disclosure. The seller must say whether flooding damaged the property while they owned it. They must also say whether they filed a flood claim or got federal flood assistance (section 689.302).
For a high-floor unit, the building matters more than the unit. Ask the association about flood damage to the garage, lobby, elevators and mechanical rooms. Ask about any related claims or assessments too. For zones, flood insurance for rentals and elevation certificates, see the Pinellas County flood zone guide.
55+ and pet rules
A building can limit residents by age only if it meets the housing for older persons rules. At least 80% of occupied units need one resident 55 or older. The building must also publish policies that show it intends to be 55+ (section 760.29; 24 CFR 100.305). Age rules also limit who can rent the unit.
Pet limits come from the declaration and rules. Emotional support animals follow separate reasonable accommodation rules under Florida law (section 760.27). Tenants are bound by the same rules, so read them with your rental plan in mind.
Condo vs townhouse in St. Pete
A townhouse can be a condo unit, a lot in an HOA, or a house and lot you own outright with no association. The milestone inspection law applies to condo and co-op buildings of three or more habitable stories (553.899). Most two-story townhouses fall outside it. Rental rules follow the same split: condo or HOA documents where there is an association, and city rules everywhere. For citywide prices, read St. Petersburg home and townhouse prices in 2026.
Sources
All checked October 26, 2026.
- City of St. Petersburg: transient accommodation handout
- Florida Statutes 2026: 212.03, 553.899, 689.302, 718.110, 718.111, 718.112, 718.116, 718.202, 718.503, 760.27, 760.29
- Florida Senate bill pages: HB 913 (2025), HB 657 (2026)
- DBPR condo FAQ and DBPR SIRS reporting
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-2.1-03
- Citizens 2026 rate and rule changes
- HUD condominium lookup, FEMA Flood Map Service Center
- Building reporting: St Pete Rising and St Pete Catalyst, linked in the sections above