Menu
Menu
🔎 Compliance Crackdown: Walton County is now fining short-term rental owners $500 per day for failing to register their properties as required by law.
📋 Hearing Results: Six of nine owners cited in a May hearing were given two business days to comply with certification requirements.
🧾 Steps to Certify: Homeowners must complete five registration steps with state and local agencies to avoid penalties.
Short-Term Vacation Rental Owners in Walton County will face fines of $500 daily if they aren’t officially registered for taxes with the County and State.
Rental properties, which comprise a significant portion of Walton County’s economy, must register to pay taxes to both entities in compliance with state law.
Walton County’s Land Development Code’s Section 1.13.16 states:
“…any property owner who wishes to rent a residential unit as a short-term vacation rental must first apply for and receive a short-term vacation rental certificate from Walton County and shall renew the certificate annually for as long as the unit is used as a short-term vacation rental.”
The Walton County STVR Compliance Magistrate held a hearing in Freeport Commons in mid-May to hear cases of homeowners who have not completed their Vacation Rental Certification requirements. Failure to comply and acquire the five existing prerequisites for operating a short-term rental in Walton County will ultimately result in fines for homeowners.
Of the nine cases presented this week to Special Magistrate Hayward Dykes, Jr., six property owners were given two business days to comply with the County code and complete the rental certificate requirements.
According to officials familiar with the situation who did not speak on the record, the State of Florida takes several weeks to return short-term rental property paperwork – meaning that if these short-term rentals started the process today, they would still owe thousands in fines to the County.
Most of the cases presented to the Magistrate involved properties that have been noncompliant since 2023 or before that time. In addition to the daily fine, The County adds an administrative fee of just over $100 for each case.
At a Planning Commission Meeting earlier in May, Joshua Allen, Tourism and Livability Coordinator for Walton County noted short-term rentals are easily spotted because the County has “software that catches it [unreported short-term rentals] and helps the County determine if it is a noncompliant STVR.
Allen also mentioned that Home Owner Associations (HOAs) help the County find STVR violations. With parking restraints and the busy summer months approaching, overcrowding in neighborhoods can easily be a reason to see if a neighbor is listing their property on the Vacation Rental By Owner (VRBO) application or a similar application.
After fines are determined and assessed, Code Enforcement for the County takes over and is responsible for working with the homeowner who is not compliant.
Allen added that each of the properties on the Magistrate’s case docket received multiple notices regarding the violations of the STVR code.
Allen said the County has treated enforcement as a time of “education” for the last couple of years. But now that sufficient and extended notices have been issued – the enforcement must begin.
For those seeking certification, there are specific prerequisites that the homeowner must meet. They include the following:
For more information on the STVR certification program, see https://mywcfl.rentals.
The Tourism and Livability Coordinator told the Magistrate after the compliance hearing that all homeowners purchasing single-family homes since 2023 have received a mailing from the County that gives the new homeowner directions for obtaining Vacation Rental Certification if they plan to rent their home.
