A month in Tampa

Florida taxes rentals of six months or less, so a 30-night stay pays 13.5% in Tampa and 13% in St Petersburg and on the Gulf beaches. The tax stops only with a written lease for longer than six months, or after six months in the same place with the tax paid.

Since 1 July 2025, occupancy in a hotel, motel or vacation rental is transient unless a written agreement says the unit is the guest's sole residence. Florida's landlord and tenant act does not apply to transient stays, and an operator can ask a guest who has not paid, or has not checked out by the time given in writing, to leave; staying on after that is a misdemeanour. Under a residential lease, the landlord returns a deposit within 15 days, or sends written notice of a claim within 30.

The short-term rental rules of Tampa, St Petersburg, Clearwater and St Pete Beach could not be verified as of September 2026. Florida law bars cities and counties from banning vacation rentals or limiting how long or how often they are rented, except under local laws adopted on or before 1 June 2011, so older local rules can still apply. Ask the host which licence the place holds and whether a month is allowed there.

Downtown Tampa and the Channel District suit a month with the Riverwalk and monthly garage permits, and the TECO streetcar links them with Ybor City (via GetCar). Ybor City suits a month in old brick buildings for anyone who does not mind late nights. Downtown St. Petersburg suits a month on the water, about 15 km (9 miles) from St Pete Beach. These choices are editorial.

Tampa sells monthly garage permits: USD 170 for unrestricted access at Ft. Brooke, USD 150 at Pam Iorio, USD 140 at W.F. Poe, USD 125 at Twiggs, USD 90 at Centro Ybor and USD 85 at Palm Ave., plus tax. At Clearwater Beach, Pier 60 and several other city lots forbid parking from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., and St Pete Beach issues parking permits only to residents who own property or hold a lease of 6 months or more, so a month on the beaches needs a place with its own parking.

Rental companies bill tolls through their own programmes. A SunPass Portable owner can add the rental car's plate to the account for the rental dates.

Visitors from the 42 Visa Waiver Program countries, among them the UK and 24 of the 27 EU countries (not Bulgaria, Cyprus or Romania), can stay up to 90 days with an ESTA, which costs USD 40.27. The stay cannot be extended, and a side trip to Canada, Mexico or a Caribbean island does not restart the 90 days. CBP records each arrival electronically, with an admit-until date that can be checked on its website.

Airbnb calls 28 nights or more a monthly stay: the first month is charged up front, later months 10 days before each period, under a long-term cancellation policy that generally requires 30 days' notice of changes.

Planning to keep a car at the beach lots. Several close at night, and street parking at Clearwater Beach stops at 5 hours.

Expecting the room tax to stop after 30 nights. It runs for six months unless a written lease for longer is in place.

Collecting a parking ticket with a foreign card. Tampa takes online payment only from US-issued cards; otherwise it is a money order by post.

Assuming utilities, cleaning or a deposit are included. No official source on local practice was found, so ask in writing.