Vacation Rentals

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on enforcement mechanisms or rule-making authority beyond suspending or revoking licenses and fining non-compliant owners.

Vacation Rentals Pool Safety Law

This law requires vacation rental owners to install pool safety features if their property has a swimming pool and allows the Department of Business and Professional Regulation to fine or revoke licenses for noncompliance.

What This Bill Does

• Requires vacation rental owners to put in place at least one pool safety feature if their property has a swimming pool.
• Gives the Department of Business and Professional Regulation the power to suspend or cancel the license of a vacation rental owner who does not follow the rules about pool safety features.
• Allows the department to fine vacation rental owners for not following the pool safety requirements.

Who It Names or Affects

• People who own or manage vacation rentals in Florida.
• The Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which will oversee compliance with these new rules.

Terms To Know

Vacation rental

A house or apartment that people rent for a short time during their holidays.

Pool safety feature

Something like a fence, cover, or alarm that helps keep children safe around swimming pools.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify what types of pool safety features must be installed.
• It is unclear how the Department of Business and Professional Regulation will enforce these rules.

Official Summary Text

Vacation Rentals; (THIS BILL COMBINED IN CS/658 & 608) Requiring applicants or licensees seeking to obtain or renew a license to operate a vacation rental to install a pool safety feature if a pool is located on the vacation rental property; authorizing the Department of Business and Professional Regulation to suspend or revoke a license and fine the licensee if a vacation rental is not in compliance

Current Bill Text

Florida Senate
-
2026

SB 608

By
Senator Smith

17-00279A-26 2026608__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to vacation rentals; creating s.
3 509.243, F.S.; requiring applicants or licensees
4 seeking to obtain or renew a license to operate a
5 vacation rental to install a pool safety feature if a
6 pool is located on the vacation rental property;
7 authorizing the Department of Business and
8 Professional Regulation to suspend or revoke a license
9 and fine the licensee if a vacation rental is not in
10 compliance; authorizing the department to adopt rules;
11 providing an effective date.
12
13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
14
15 Section 1. Section 509.243, Florida Statutes, is created to
16 read:
17
509.243
Vacation rentals; pool safety compliance;

18
penalties
.—

19
(1) An applicant seeking to obtain, or a licensee seeking

20
to renew, a license to operate a vacation rental as described in

21
s. 509.242(1)(c) must install at least one pool safety feature

22
as des
cribed in s. 515.27
(1) if a swimming pool is located on

23
the vacation rental property
.

24
(2)
The department may suspend or revoke the license
and

25
fine the licensee
for noncompliance with this section.

26
(3) The department may adopt rules to implement this

27
section.

28 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.