Can you Airbnb a condo or house in South Pasadena, Florida? Not by the night, as I read the city code. South Pasadena bans tourist rentals outright in its single-family districts. Its code also treats any unit rented for less than a month more than three times in 12 months as a hotel or motel. Hotels and motels need a special exception on commercial land. That reaches the condo towers too, because the multifamily districts do not list hotels or motels.
Plan on monthly, seasonal and annual tenants, and get the city's answer in writing before you count on short stays.
I'm a broker and an Airbnb Superhost, and I own and manage short-term and furnished rentals. I live in downtown St. Petersburg.
What this covers
- Is the property inside South Pasadena?
- What does South Pasadena's code say about short stays?
- Can you Airbnb a South Pasadena condo?
- Can you Airbnb a South Pasadena house?
- Where does the code allow short stays?
- Does Florida's vacation rental law change the answer?
- Do you need a city business tax receipt to rent?
- How are monthly and seasonal leases taxed?
- How many South Pasadena addresses hold a state rental license?
- What should buyers and sellers check in South Pasadena?
Is the property inside South Pasadena?
Check this first, because the mailing address can mislead you. The city's own page says South Pasadena was incorporated on July 1, 1955, covers 0.6 square mile and has about 5,000 residents. It borders St. Petersburg, Gulfport and St. Pete Beach, plus unincorporated Pinellas County. DBPR's license file shows ZIP 33707 on addresses in South Pasadena, Gulfport and St. Petersburg, so a "South Pasadena" mailing address does not prove the city's code applies.
Look up the parcel on the Pinellas County Property Appraiser site, or use the county's address lookup. If the parcel is in unincorporated Pinellas, the county's rules apply instead; I cover those in the unincorporated Pinellas guide. If it is in Gulfport or St. Petersburg, read the St. Pete and Gulfport rules. If it is in St. Pete Beach, read the St. Pete Beach post.
What does South Pasadena's code say about short stays?
Two lines in the land development code do most of the work. The city links its code from its home page, and the code is published on eCode360.
The first is a definition in Sec. 130-4. It says a hotel or motel is "any unit or group of units offered or advertised as being available as a place for human habitation for a term of less than one month more than three times in any consecutive twelve-month period regardless of the form of ownership and regardless of whether the occupant has been required to sign a written lease agreement." The code notes that Ordinance 2008-01 added this definition on March 10, 2008.
The second is in the single-family rules. Sec. 130-8 allows single-family homes there and adds, in parentheses, "Transient/tourist dwellings and hotel/motel are prohibited." That line carries the same March 10, 2008 amendment note.
The test is the rental pattern, not the building. A condo owner who books a unit for less than a month more than three times in a year is running a hotel or motel use under this definition. It does not matter that the owner is one person or that each guest signed a lease.
| Rental pattern for one unit | How the city code treats it |
|---|---|
| Stays of one month or longer | Normal residential use; the hotel/motel definition does not reach it |
| Stays under one month, three times or fewer in 12 months | Outside the hotel/motel definition; single-family districts still bar "transient/tourist dwellings," a term the code does not define |
| Stays under one month, more than three times in 12 months | A hotel or motel use under Sec. 130-4 |
Can you Airbnb a South Pasadena condo?
Not with nightly or weekly guests all year, as I read the code. Most of the mapped land is multifamily. The city's zoning map, dated November 22, 2016, shows most land in RM multifamily districts, with Commercial General along Pasadena Avenue and Gulfport Boulevard.
Sec. 130-12 lists what the RM districts allow. The list starts with a strict rule: no land or building may be used "except for one or more of the following." Then it names single-family, duplex and multifamily homes, home occupations, antennas on existing buildings and a narrow salon use for large senior buildings. Hotels and motels are not on the list.
Put that next to the Sec. 130-4 definition. A condo rented for under a month more than three times in 12 months becomes a hotel or motel use, and the RM districts do not allow that use. The code does not set a separate condo rule, and the city has not posted a short-term rental page that I could find. That is why I treat this as my reading of the code, not a city ruling. Ask the city to confirm it in writing for the exact unit.
Condo documents can add a second layer, because a building can set its own leasing rules on top of the city code. Under Fla. Stat. 718.110(13), an amendment that bans rentals or changes how long or how often owners may rent applies only to owners who consented to it and to owners who take title after it passed. A buyer takes title after, so read the declaration, every amendment and the rules before you sign. I cover the condo document side in my downtown St. Pete condo guide.
Can you Airbnb a South Pasadena house?
No. The single-family districts are where the code is most direct. Sec. 130-8 says "Transient/tourist dwellings and hotel/motel are prohibited." That line has no three-stay allowance. The same section allows home-based businesses, but the city's home business rules, rewritten by Ordinance 2021-10, say they do not override local rules on transient public lodging that state law has not preempted.
Single-family land is a small share of the city. The zoning map shows RS districts in a few pockets: the Grand Vista Way loop at the south end of Shore Drive, and a small grid along Corey Way and Durling Drive near 14th Avenue South. The map also shows a special area governed by a stipulation agreement. If a house sits there, ask the city which rules apply.
Where does the code allow short stays?
On commercial land, as a hotel, and only with city approval. Sec. 130-14 lists "Hotels, motels, motor inns and interval-ownership apartments" as a special exception use in the Commercial General district on land with a Commercial General plan category. A special exception is not automatic. The city reviews each request.
The Planned Redevelopment district tied to the Pasadena Avenue corridor plan can also include temporary lodging. Sec. 130-18.1 limits it to the hotel, motel and interval ownership uses allowed in Commercial General. In Commercial General land that allows transient lodging, Sec. 130-15 caps density at 40 units an acre.
None of this helps a buyer who wants to rent one condo or one house by the night. It describes a hotel project, with a site plan and a city hearing.
| District on the zoning map | Short stays under one month |
|---|---|
| RS single-family (RS-70, RS-50, RS-35) | Prohibited: "Transient/tourist dwellings and hotel/motel are prohibited" (Sec. 130-8) |
| RM multifamily (most condos) | Hotel/motel use not on the permitted list (Sec. 130-12); more than three stays under a month in 12 months is a hotel/motel use (Sec. 130-4) |
| MH-13.5 mobile home | Not on the permitted list (Sec. 130-10) |
| CG Commercial General | Hotels and motels by special exception only (Sec. 130-14) |
Does Florida's vacation rental law change the answer?
Probably not here, but ask a lawyer before you rely on it. Florida bars cities from banning vacation rentals or limiting how long or how often they rent. Fla. Stat. 509.032(7)(b) carves out older rules: the ban on local limits skips any rule a city "adopted on or before June 1, 2011."
The code's notes date both key lines to Ordinance 2008-01, adopted March 10, 2008. That is before the cutoff. I did not open the 2008 ordinance itself, and the RM district section has been amended since 2011 for other reasons. If your plan depends on the state law, ask a Florida land use attorney. I am not giving a legal opinion.
Do you need a city business tax receipt to rent?
Only if you rent more than one unit. South Pasadena's business tax fee schedule, Sec. 146-18, has a "Rental units" line. It says "Where only 1 unit is offered for rent, no license is required." The category covers condos, apartments, rooms, cottages and other living quarters rented "by the day, week, month, season or year" on one parcel. The fee is $5.25 per unit for up to 99 units and $4.20 per unit for 100 or more.
The city's business tax receipt page handles applications. A business tax receipt is a tax, not a zoning approval. Paying it does not make a short stay legal where the zoning code bars it.
How are monthly and seasonal leases taxed?
The six-month line decides it. The state rental tax is 6%, but Fla. Stat. 212.03 exempts a tenant with a bona fide written lease for continuous residence longer than six months. The county's bed tax, the tourist development tax, is another six percent on private homes rented for six months or less. Florida's DR-15DSS adds Pinellas County's 1% discretionary surtax, which runs through December 31, 2029.
| Lease length | Florida 6% rental tax | Pinellas 1% surtax | Pinellas 6% bed tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| One to six months (a snowbird season) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Longer than six months, written lease for continuous residence | No | No | No |
A January to March snowbird lease in a South Pasadena condo is legal under the city code, because each stay runs a month or more. It still owes the 13% combined rental tax. My Pinellas Airbnb tax post shows who collects what.
How many South Pasadena addresses hold a state rental license?
A few dozen records, and the location field needs care. First, who needs one. Per the state DBPR guide, you need a vacation rental license to rent a whole unit for under 30 days or a calendar month (whichever is less) more than three times in a calendar year, or to advertise it as regularly rented to guests. For a single unit, the cost is a $50 application fee, $10 for the education program and a $170 yearly license. The same page warns that a licensed rental can "still be subject to city, county or other local authority jurisdiction."
For the count, I pulled the District 3 lodging extract from DBPR's public records page on November 13, 2026, and kept rows whose location city reads South Pasadena. It lists 27 records: 6 vacation rental condo licenses, 10 vacation rental house licenses and 11 apartment licenses. Several condo records are group licenses that cover dozens of units each. DBPR fills that field from the address, not the city limits, and I did not check each record against the city boundary. Treat the count as a rough guide.
A state license is not a city permission slip. Treat a listing's license number as one data point, not proof that short stays are legal at that address.
What should buyers and sellers check in South Pasadena?
Start with jurisdiction and zoning, then the condo documents, then the tax setup:
- Confirm the parcel is inside the city, using the Property Appraiser and the county's address lookup.
- Find the zoning district on the city's zoning map, then ask the Community Improvement Department to confirm it in writing.
- Ask the city, in writing, whether stays under one month are allowed for that unit at all.
- Read the condo declaration, every amendment and the rules for minimum lease terms and leasing caps.
- Ask a seller who has rented short term for twelve months of booking records and tax filings. Short stays that broke the city code are a risk for the buyer, not a value.
- Price the unit on monthly and seasonal rent, with the 13% tax on leases of six months or less built in.
If you want nightly bookings, South Pasadena is the wrong town. Compare the zones in the Pinellas short-term rental map and look at the beach towns that allow them, such as Treasure Island.
Sources
- City of South Pasadena: about the city, zoning map (Nov. 22, 2016), business tax receipts
- South Pasadena City Code on eCode360: table of contents, Sec. 130-4 definitions, Article III zoning districts, Secs. 130-8 to 130-18.1, Sec. 146-18 business tax fees, Ordinance 2021-10
- Florida Statutes, 2026: 509.032, 212.03, 718.110
- Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation: vacation rental licensing guide, lodging records download page
- Florida Department of Revenue: 2026 discretionary surtax table (DR-15DSS)
- Pinellas County: bed tax page, county short-term rental program, unincorporated areas only, My Neighborhood lookup, and the Property Appraiser
This post explains public rules as I read them on November 13, 2026. It is not legal advice.
Cover photo: South Pasadena, Florida city sign by Astrophobe, under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license. We cropped and resized it.