Vacation rentals on Cape San Blas and St. George Island

This market covers the quiet end of the Panhandle that locals call the Forgotten Coast: Cape San Blas, the St. Joseph Peninsula and Port St. Joe in Gulf County, and, across Apalachicola Bay, St. George Island and the oyster town of Apalachicola in Franklin County. There are no high-rise strips here, few chain businesses and a great deal of protected land, including St. Joseph Peninsula State Park and Dr. Julian G. Bruce St. George Island State Park. Guests are mostly families and groups renting a whole beach house for a week, from spring into early fall, with anglers, birders and scallopers in the shoulder months.

Gulf County: a license before the first guest

Gulf County runs its own short-term rental license. Any property rented for less than 30 days or one calendar month, whichever is less, needs one, and only in zoning districts where the use is permitted. The county requires a Florida sales tax registration and a tourist development tax account with the Gulf County Tax Collector before issuing it. Licenses expire on December 31, renewals open on November 1, and each renewal comes with an annual inspection.

Franklin County and St. George Island

On the Franklin County side the public framework is lighter: we found no county program comparable to Gulf County's license, although business tax, zoning, septic and life-safety requirements still apply, and the Department of Revenue's rate table shows Franklin's tourist tax as collected by the state rather than the county. What decides most cases on the island is private. The St. George Plantation owners' association, on the gated west end, has its own rental rules and rental agreement, last amended in May 2026, and other neighborhoods carry covenants too.

The state framework

Both counties sit under Florida's s. 509.032(7): no ban, and no limit on the length or frequency of stays unless the rule predates June 1, 2011. The state requires a DBPR vacation rental license for any home rented more than three times a year for stays under 30 days, plus sales tax on every stay of six months or less.

Practical points

• Hurricane Michael hit this coast hard in 2018: check elevation, wind mitigation and flood cover before buying, and write a clear storm-cancellation policy.
• Ask the county about septic and life-safety requirements before advertising a bedroom count.
• Sea turtle lighting and beach-furniture rules apply during nesting season; put them in the house manual.

This is a market of repeat guests who come back to the same house every year, so reliability pays. We study every request and tell you honestly whether and how we can help.