HostReady1. Find out which government actually binds the parcel
Your mailing address can name a city your parcel is not in. Post offices serve areas outside city limits, so an address that reads 'St. Augustine' can sit in unincorporated St. Johns County and answer to the county's rules, not the city's. Check the parcel on your county's property appraiser or assessor map: the record shows whether it is inside a municipality. That is the government whose short-term rental ordinance applies, with the county and state layered underneath.
2. Check whether that jurisdiction allows short-term rentals at all
Search the jurisdiction's municipal code for 'short-term rental', 'vacation rental' or 'transient' and read the definition first: most codes define a short-term rental as a stay under 30 days (some use 28 or 31). Then look for the operative sentence: permitted, permitted with a licence, permitted only in certain districts, or prohibited. A city with no ordinance at all usually defers to the county, and some states set a floor that cities cannot go below.
3. Check your parcel's zoning district against the permitted list
The same assessor record, or the city's zoning map, gives your parcel's zoning district (a code like R-1, RM-2 or C-3). The ordinance then lists the districts where short-term rentals are allowed, sometimes with a different licence type per district. If your district is on the list, the use is permitted subject to conditions. If it is not on the list, the use is usually prohibited, but read the list's introduction: some are examples, not exhaustive.
4. Read the conditions that attach to the permission
Being in an allowed district is rarely the whole answer. Common conditions: a primary-residence requirement (you must live there most of the year), a cap on nights per year, a cap on the number of licences citywide with a waiting list, owner-occupancy for a hosted rental, a minimum stay, parking, a local contact within a set distance, an inspection, and a lodging-tax registration separate from the licence. An HOA, a lease or a condo declaration can prohibit the use even where the city allows it.
Where the honest answer is "not yet known"
Some jurisdictions publish their permitted districts; some publish only the licences they have issued, which is a sample, not a rule. A district missing from a permit-derived list is unproven, not prohibited. HostReady says which kind of list it is looking at and marks the verdict conditional rather than calling it either way, because a wrong "allowed" gets you fined and a wrong "banned" costs you the property.
Check an address now
Jurisdiction from the parcel, the rule, the zoning verdict where published, the licence and tax obligations, each linked to its government page. First property free, no card.
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Questions people ask
How do I know if short-term rentals are allowed at my address?
Four layers: which government binds the parcel (check the assessor record, not the mailing address), whether that jurisdiction permits short-term rentals, whether your parcel's zoning district is on the permitted list, and which conditions attach (primary residence, night caps, licence caps, HOA rules). Each layer has a government source you can read; or enter the address on HostReady and see all four with the source linked, free for one property.
Is my property zoned for short-term rental?
Your parcel's zoning district is on the county assessor record or the city zoning map. The city's short-term rental ordinance lists the districts where the use is permitted, often with different licence types per district. Match the two. If the district is not on the list, treat the use as prohibited until the planning department says otherwise.
Can I rely on my mailing address to know my city?
No. Postal city names follow the post office, not city limits. Parcels just outside a city carry its name and answer to the county. HostReady resolves the jurisdiction from the parcel boundary for exactly this reason.
What if the city has no short-term rental ordinance?
Then the county's rule applies if there is one, and the state's rules underneath that. No ordinance does not mean no rules: lodging tax, business licensing and zoning still apply. It also does not mean the city will not adopt one; that is what monitoring is for.
Does a listing on Airbnb or Vrbo mean it is legal?
No. Both platforms ask you to confirm compliance and in some cities collect a registration number, but neither checks your parcel against the ordinance. Cities use listing-monitoring software to find unregistered rentals from the listing itself.
How do I check this for free?
Enter the address on HostReady. It resolves the jurisdiction from the parcel, shows whether short-term rentals are allowed there, the zoning verdict where the jurisdiction publishes its permitted districts, the licence and tax obligations, and links each fact to the government page it came from. The first property is free with no card.