Getting hurt on a trip is disorienting. You are away from home, in pain, and not sure whether anyone is responsible. You are not alone, and staying in someone's rental does not mean you have no rights. South Florida has a lot of short-term rentals, and guests get hurt in the same few ways: pools and hot tubs, dark outside stairs, broken balcony rails, and break-ins where the locks or lights were bad. Many guests think that because they booked on an app and stayed in someone's home, there is nobody to make a claim against. That is usually wrong. Florida treats these rentals as places of business, so the host owes a paying guest the highest level of care Florida law asks for. There is also often more insurance available than in a normal home claim, because the app's coverage sits on top of the owner's own policy.
Florida Airbnb & Vacation Rental Injury Lawyers

Pool, Hot Tub and Drowning Claims

Pools cause the most serious short-term rental cases, and they are also the easiest to prove, because Florida sets a clear rule: a fence at least four feet high with no gaps or footholds, and gates that swing outward, close by themselves, and latch out of a child's reach. A missing or broken pool alarm, a gate left unlatched, a cloudy or drained pool, missing depth markings and broken drain covers all point the same way. So does a listing that advertised a private pool when the fence did not meet the rule.

Stairs, Balconies and Railings

Older South Florida buildings turned into rentals have the same hazards again and again: outside stairs with no handrail or a loose one, a balcony rail that is too low or held by rusted bolts, uneven steps, and outside lights that have been out long enough that the host knew. The question is what the owner knew. Did they know, or would a reasonable check have caught it? Earlier guest reviews complaining about the same thing are strong proof, and we look for them early because listings can be edited or taken down.

Inadequate Security and Assaults

Broken locks, a lockbox code every guest gets, keys that are never changed, missing outside lights, and known crime in the building can support a security claim against the owner, and sometimes against the building association or the management company. What matters is what was known before you arrived, so the police call history and the association's own records count as much as your photos of the scene.

Bed Bugs, Carbon Monoxide, Mold and Defective Fixtures

Not every rental injury is a fall. Bed bugs, carbon monoxide from a bad water heater or generator, missing or dead smoke and CO alarms, scalding tap water, and glass shower doors or furniture that break under normal use are all real claims. Each one has a short window to gather proof, so take photos, keep your medical records, and report the problem in the app's message thread where it gets a time stamp.

Who Pays, and How the Policies Stack

We go through the layers: the platform's host coverage, which Airbnb says pays up to $1 million per occurrence; the owner's own landlord or short-term rental policy; the condo or homeowners association policy for anything in a shared area; and any property manager, cleaning service or repair contractor whose work caused the hazard. Regular homeowner policies often exclude short-term rental income, which is why finding the right policy at the start matters so much.

What To Do Before You Check Out

Photograph the hazard exactly as it was, plus the wider room and the building. Screenshot the listing, its photos and its description, and the full message thread with the host, then report the injury through the platform so it is timestamped. Get medical care in Florida before you fly home and keep every record. Do not accept a refund or a booking credit in exchange for signing anything. Call Templer & Hirsch for a free consultation; we handle out-of-state and international clients remotely.

Who Is Liable for an Injury in a Florida Vacation Rental?

A short-term rental is not a private home for legal purposes. Florida classifies a vacation rental as a transient public lodging establishment: "any unit or group of units in a condominium or cooperative or any individually or collectively owned single-family, two-family, three-family, or four-family house or dwelling unit that is also a transient public lodging establishment but that is not a timeshare project" (Fla. Stat. § 509.242(1)(c)). A paying guest is a business invitee, and the owner owes the highest duty Florida premises law recognizes: keep the property reasonably safe, and warn about dangers the guest would not discover on their own.

Insurance that can pay for a guest's injury

Policies that may apply to one injury, largest first

Platform host liability (Airbnb AirCover, Vrbo)
Up to $1,000,000 per injury
Owner's own landlord / STR policy
Amount varies by policy
Condo or HOA policy for common areas
Amount varies by building

Airbnb states that Host liability insurance under AirCover for Hosts provides up to $1 million per occurrence for bodily injury to a guest or others, and that it does not cover intentional acts. Coverage terms change, so the policy in force on the date of your stay is what governs.

$1MAirbnb host liability, per occurrence
4 ftMinimum pool barrier height (Fla. Stat. § 515.29)
2 yrsDeadline to sue for negligence

Pools are the most common serious claim. Florida's Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act requires a barrier at least four feet high on the outside, with no gaps, openings or footholds a young child could crawl under, squeeze through or climb over, and gates that open outward, self-close and self-latch with the release on the pool side and out of a child's reach (Fla. Stat. § 515.29). A rental advertising a private pool that does not meet those requirements is a documented safety failure before anyone argues about notice.

Where We Handle Florida Airbnb & Vacation Rental Injury Lawyers Cases

We represent guests injured in short-term rentals throughout Florida, including:

The Attorneys Who Handle These Cases

Aventura injury attorneys David L. Templer and Mark Hirsch of Templer & Hirsch
David L. Templer and Mark Hirsch at the firm's Aventura office

David L. Templer and Mark Hirsch have practiced from the same Aventura office for more than 35 years and have recovered over $100 million for injured people. You speak with an attorney, not a case manager, and the attorney you speak with is the attorney who handles your file.

Consultations are free and there is no fee unless we recover money for you. Call 305-937-2700 or send us the details.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sue Airbnb or Vrbo directly for an injury?

Usually the claim runs against the host and the property owner rather than the platform, because the platform's position is that it does not own or control the property. What the platform does provide is coverage: Airbnb states that Host liability insurance under AirCover for Hosts pays up to $1 million per occurrence for bodily injury to a guest. In practice, that policy is often the fund your claim is paid from even though the host is the named defendant.

The host asked me to sign a waiver or a house agreement. Does it block my claim?

Not automatically. Florida courts read exculpatory clauses narrowly, and a general waiver does not reliably excuse a host's own negligence, particularly where a statute like the pool safety act sets the standard. Keep whatever you signed and bring it to the consultation instead of assuming the claim is over.

My child was hurt at a rental with a pool. What matters most?

Whether the pool met Florida's barrier requirements: a barrier at least four feet high on the outside, no gaps or footholds, and gates that open outward and are self-closing and self-latching with the release on the pool side out of a child's reach (Fla. Stat. § 515.29). Photograph the pool, the barrier, the gate and the latch before you leave, along with the listing photos and description that advertised it.

What is the host actually required to do?

A paying guest at a Florida vacation rental is a business invitee, so the owner must keep the property in a reasonably safe condition, inspect for dangers, correct them, and warn about hazards that are not obvious. That covers stairs and railings, balcony rails, lighting, locks and security, pool and hot tub condition, and known defects the host did not disclose.

I was injured in the building's gym, garage or hallway, not inside the unit.

Then the condominium association or its management company is likely responsible for that area rather than the host, and a separate policy applies. These claims frequently involve two or three insurers pointing at each other, which is exactly the situation where getting a lawyer involved early prevents the claim from stalling.

I live out of state and I have already flown home. Can I still bring a claim?

Yes. Florida law applies to the injury and we represent out-of-state and international clients routinely, handling everything remotely. Send us the listing, your reservation record, your photographs and your medical records. The two-year deadline under Fla. Stat. § 95.11 runs whether or not you are still in Florida.

Explore more ways Templer & Hirsch can help, and use our settlement calculators for federal maritime claims.

Sources & further reading (verify before relying on them)

This page is general information, not legal advice. Laws change; confirm the current statute and speak with an attorney about your situation.