Florida vacation rental fire safety requirements: a host’s checklist

Updated October 26, 2026 · 7 min read

In Florida, a home or condo rented to guests more than three times a year for stays of 30 days or less is a vacation rental. It needs a license from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), and it falls under the state fire safety rules for public lodging. Here is what those rules ask for, plus the local extras many cities and counties add.

Who inspects, and when

DBPR does not require an inspection before it issues a vacation rental license, but it can inspect after a complaint or at random. Buildings three or more stories tall need a balcony inspection by a qualified inspector every three years. Many cities and counties, including several beach towns, require their own fire or life safety inspection before they issue a local rental permit, and some repeat it every year.

The statewide fire safety rule

The state fire marshal’s rule for rental homes is Florida Administrative Code 69A-43.018. For one- and two-family homes licensed as public lodging, it asks for:

Smoke alarms powered by the house electrical system, plus one in each sleeping room, installed to NFPA 72.
Portable fire extinguishers that meet NFPA 10. Many local checklists specify at least a 2A:10B:C extinguisher, mounted where guests can reach it and tagged by a service company every year.
Battery-powered emergency lighting that turns on by itself when the power fails and lights the way to the primary exit for at least one hour.
A posted floor diagram showing the actual floor arrangement, the primary exit, a secondary exit, and room names, posted where guests will see it.
Fire safety information for guests covering how to evacuate, the smoke alarms, and how to report a fire or emergency.
Life Safety Code exits: homes rented to more than one party per unit follow NFPA 101 Chapter 24, which calls for a primary exit and a second way out of each sleeping room.

Carbon monoxide and smoke alarm laws

CO alarms: Florida Statute 553.885 requires a carbon monoxide alarm within 10 feet of each sleeping room in homes with a fuel-burning appliance, a fireplace, or an attached garage, for buildings permitted since July 2008. Many local rental checklists require one wherever there’s a gas appliance, regardless of age.
Battery smoke alarms: under Florida Statute 553.883, a new or replacement battery-only smoke alarm in a home must have a sealed, 10-year battery.

Common local extras

Local rental checklists vary, but these show up often, especially in beach towns:

An evacuation map posted near the main exit and by each bedroom door, at least 8.5 by 11 inches.
A bedroom escape window or door that opens from inside without keys or tools, with a clear opening of about 5.7 square feet. See escape window size requirements.
Thumb-turn deadbolts, and no extra keyed locks on exit doors or sliders.
House numbers at least 4 inches tall, visible from the street.
A door alarm on exits that lead to a pool, and pool safety gear.
Grills kept away from the building, and an occupancy limit posted for guests.
A site or parking plan, where the town limits guest vehicles.

Get the paperwork ready

In Brevard County? See the Brevard County guide for the tourist tax and what each beach town adds.

The posted floor diagram, the bedroom maps, a floor plan, and a parking plan are the pages hosts most often have to create from scratch. The FireEscapePlan.com rental kit makes them from your measurements and checks for common failures, like a bedroom without a smoke alarm or a CO alarm too far from a bedroom door, before the inspector does.

Make your rental’s maps and plans

Draw and check it free. $99 per property when you’re ready to print the kit.

Start my rental’s plan

Sources

Guides are general information to help you prepare, not legal advice or an inspection. Your local fire marshal, building department, or licensing agency decides what applies to your property. See the disclaimer.

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