Thinking about an Airbnb?
Melbourne Beach is an upscale, low-key barrier-island town just south of Indialantic. You can run a vacation rental here, and the nightly rates are some of the strongest on the Space Coast, but the town has its own registration program you need to follow. Here is how it works, from an agent who sells this market every week.
Nightly allowed · registration requiredThe short version
Florida law keeps Melbourne Beach from banning short-term rentals or setting a minimum number of nights, so nightly stays are allowed. The town runs a vacation rental registration program: you apply, pass a safety inspection, name a 24/7 contact, and follow rules on occupancy, parking, and posted safety information. Registration runs about $500 the first year and $350 a year to renew, plus a $150 inspection.
What sets this market apart is the money. Melbourne Beach is a smaller, upscale, quieter beach town where nightly rates are among the highest on the Space Coast, even though occupancy runs lower than the busier towns. Whether a specific property pencils out, and what it takes to register it, is exactly what I help you sort out before you write an offer.
One thing to get straight first: not every home with a Melbourne Beach address is inside the Town. There is an incorporated Town of Melbourne Beach, and there is unincorporated "Melbourne Beach," the barrier island south of the town limits that shares the 32951 mailing address but is governed by Brevard County. The two follow very different short-term rental rules, so confirming which one a property is in is step one.
Market context
Market-wide estimates from third-party short-term rental data (AirROI, trailing twelve months) and Zillow. They are not a promise. What your property actually earns depends on location, size, condition, how it is managed, and the season.
Actual earnings across the roughly 288 active rentals here, by performance tier. The spread is wide, so how a property is furnished, priced, and managed matters as much as the address.
Melbourne Beach earns through rate, not volume. Occupancy runs around 39%, lower than the busier beach towns, but the average nightly rate is roughly $519 and the top tier clears $870 a night, so the median rental still grosses about $66,000 a year and the top performers pass $170,000. It is a quieter, upscale stretch of beach, which is exactly the draw for the guests who book it. There is no reliable bedroom-by-bedroom data for a market this size, so for any specific property I will pull real comparable rentals before you make an offer.
Seasonality
Short-term rental income here is not even across the year. These are average monthly figures by season from third-party data, so you can plan for the cash-flow swing, not just an annual total.
Busiest month is March, around $13,046 a month. Slowest is September, around $4,199. Price and set minimum stays around that swing.
Know the layers
A state vacation rental license from the Department of Business & Professional Regulation, plus state safety rules and human-trafficking awareness training. Florida also protects your right to rent short-term.
The 5% Tourist Development Tax on stays of six months or less, filed with the Brevard Clerk of Court, plus a county business tax receipt.
The local vacation rental registration program: registration, an annual safety inspection, a 24/7 responsible party, occupancy and parking limits, and posted safety information inside the unit.
Start to finish
Before you buy, make sure no HOA or condo association rules ban short-term rentals. Private rules can be stricter than the town, and they are the number-one thing that trips buyers up. This is exactly where I help you look before you write an offer.
Apply for your state DBPR vacation rental license, register the property with the Town of Melbourne Beach and pass its safety inspection, pull a Brevard County business tax receipt, and open a Tourist Development Tax account with the Brevard Clerk of Court.
Register to collect state sales tax with the Florida Department of Revenue, set up your systems to collect and remit the full 12% in lodging taxes, name a 24/7 responsible party, and post the required safety information before your first guest.
The city program
The town's vacation rental program runs under Chapter 74 of the town code. Here are the parts that matter most to an owner. Fees and details can change, so always confirm the current numbers with the town.
Every vacation rental must register with the town and renew each year. You can apply and renew online.
$500 for the initial registration, then $350 a year to renew, plus a $150 safety inspection. A late renewal adds $200.
Each vacation rental is inspected for life-safety and code before approval and at renewal. A first re-inspection is $85, and later ones are $150 each.
The owner or a local agent must be reachable by phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The town runs a complaint hotline at (321) 490-4123.
The limit is two guests per bedroom plus two more in the common area, up to a maximum of 12 total.
Every guest vehicle must fit on a paved parking space or driveway on the property, and your parking sketch is part of the registration.
Because of Florida law, the town cannot force a minimum stay, so true nightly rentals are allowed once you are registered.
Post the address, contacts, max occupancy, parking sketch, trash schedule, hospital and emergency numbers, rip-current warnings, the noise ordinance, and evacuation maps inside the unit.
Operating without registration carries a $250 penalty plus any additional fines, and a late annual renewal adds $200. Registering on time, and renewing on time, is far cheaper than getting cited, and the town does field complaints through its hotline.
The taxes
On any stay of six months or less, you collect these from your guest and remit them. Airbnb and VRBO handle some of this automatically, but you are responsible for making sure all of it is paid.
Sales tax and the surtax go to the Florida Department of Revenue. The 5% Tourist Development Tax is filed monthly with the Brevard County Clerk of Court, due by the 20th of the following month, with a small collection allowance for on-time electronic filing.
Paperwork
Location matters
This is the single biggest thing to get right before you buy. The same 32951 mailing address can be a legal nightly rental on one street and a 90-day-minimum property a few blocks south, because it crosses the town line into the county.
Homes within the Town of Melbourne Beach limits can rent nightly once you register with the town and pass the safety inspection. This is the area the town's program covers, and where nightly short-term rental actually works.
Many homes with a Melbourne Beach address sit in unincorporated Brevard County, south of the town limits. There the county requires a 90-day minimum stay in most residential zoning, so nightly rentals generally are not allowed. True nightly use is limited to rare "Resort Dwelling" parcels. The mailing address alone will not tell you which rules apply, so always verify the exact parcel before you buy.
Common questions
Yes. Florida law stops the town from setting a minimum number of nights or banning short-term rentals, so nightly stays are allowed. You do have to register the property with the town, pass a safety inspection, and keep the registration current.
$500 for the initial registration, then $350 a year to renew, plus a $150 safety inspection. A late renewal adds $200, and operating without registering carries a $250 penalty. You can apply and renew online.
Melbourne Beach caps occupancy at two guests per bedroom plus two more in the common area, up to a maximum of 12 total. Every vehicle also has to fit on a paved space or driveway on the property.
About 12% on stays of six months or less: 6% state sales tax, 1% county surtax, and 5% Tourist Development Tax. Platforms like Airbnb collect some of it for you, but you are responsible for making sure all of it gets paid.
Then it is no, even if the town would allow it. Private association rules can be stricter than the town and are legally enforceable. This is why we read the governing documents before you buy, not after.
Who to call
Vacation rental registration and inspections. Complaint hotline (321) 490-4123.
(321) 724-5860 · melbournebeachfl.org
Register and file the 5% TDT.
(321) 637-6530 · brevardclerk.us
County business tax receipt.
(321) 264-6969 · brevardtaxcollector.com
State vacation rental license.
(850) 487-1395 · myfloridalicense.com
State sales tax registration.
(877) 357-3725 · floridarevenue.com
Finding a Melbourne Beach property that works as a rental.
(321) 212-7676
For sale now
A live look at single-family homes for sale in Melbourne Beach that are not in an HOA, usually the most short-term-rental-friendly, since there is no association rule that can ban nightly stays. This list updates automatically from the MLS. Always confirm the HOA status and rental rules for a specific property before you buy.
Let us make it pencil out
Before you fall for a listing, let me help you check the HOA and condo rules, the town's registration requirements, and the real numbers, so you buy something you can actually rent. No pressure, just straight answers.
Rachel Langley, REALTOR · Blue Marlin Real Estate. This page is general information, not legal, tax, or investment advice, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any government agency. Market figures are third-party estimates and vary by property. Short-term rental laws, fees, and tax rates change; confirm the current requirements with the Town of Melbourne Beach, Brevard County, the Florida DBPR, and a qualified attorney or CPA before you buy or rent.