Renting · Palm Beach County
The right rental, for a season or a year.
Renters are welcome here; it’s part of the Home & Community side of what I do. Whether you need an annual lease or a winter in Wellington for show season, I help you find the right place and understand the lease before you sign.
Annual or seasonal
Two kinds of lease, two sets of rules.
Annual leases
An annual lease suits a move for work, or a year spent living in a community before you buy there. Leases longer than six months fall outside Palm Beach County’s Tourist Development Tax, and Florida’s landlord-tenant law sets the rules on deposits and notice. For a lease of a year or more, the landlord also owes you a flood disclosure at signing.
When you’re ready to stop renting, the buying side is the same conversation with me.
Seasonal leases
In Wellington, show season sets the calendar. The Winter Equestrian Festival’s 2027 Premiere Week runs January 6 to 10 and the festival continues into late March, while polo at the National Polo Center has run from late December into early May. More in my show season guide.
Rentals of six months or less owe the county’s 6% Tourist Development Tax plus state sales tax, so ask how it’s handled before you compare prices.
How renting works
Five steps to moving in.
Step 1: Tell me what you need
Annual or seasonal, your dates, the area, the budget and anything non-negotiable. For a show-season lease, share your dates as early as you can.
Step 2: Tour & shortlist
I line up the homes that fit and tell you honestly what I notice.
Step 3: Apply
Landlords ask for an application, and many associations have their own approval step. I help you gather what’s needed so nothing stalls.
Step 4: Review the lease
We go through the term, the deposit and how it’s held, and the notices Florida requires before you sign.
Step 5: Move in
I stay reachable through move-in, and I’m here when it’s time to renew, move again or buy.
Florida renter basics
What the lease has to tell you.
Chapter 83 of the Florida Statutes covers residential leases. These are the parts I check first.
Your security deposit
The landlord must tell you in writing, in the lease or within 30 days, how the deposit is held. With no claim, it comes back within 15 days of the lease ending. A claim needs written notice by certified mail within 30 days, and you have 15 days to object.
Source: s. 83.49, F.S.
Notice to end a tenancy
Where there is no fixed term, month-to-month tenancies need 30 days’ notice and year-to-year tenancies 60.
Source: s. 83.57, F.S.
Flood disclosure
For leases of one year or longer, the landlord gives a flood disclosure at or before signing. Without it, a tenant who loses 50% or more of their belongings’ value to a flood may terminate.
Source: s. 83.512, F.S.
Who your landlord is
You’re entitled to the name and address of the landlord or their agent in writing, and to a radon notice (except for stays of 45 days or less).
Source: ss. 83.50 and 404.056, F.S.
For landlords
Renting out a home in Wellington.
If you own a home in Wellington and are thinking about renting it, these are the Village and county basics to have in place before the first tenant arrives. Ask me what applies to your property.
A Business Tax Receipt
Wellington requires one from owners who rent a home for any length of time. Planning & Zoning reviews each application.
Source: Village of Wellington: Rental Properties
A Vacation Rental Permit
Needed in Wellington if a home is offered more than 3 times a year for stays under 30 days. It costs $600 per unit and took effect March 1, 2024.
Source: Village of Wellington: Vacation Rentals
Tourist Development Tax
Rentals of 6 months or less owe Palm Beach County’s 6% Tourist Development Tax plus state sales tax, and the landlord registers a TDT account.
Source: PBC Tax Collector
Renter questions
Before you sign a lease.
More answers, including deposits and moving to Florida, are on my FAQ page.
What’s the difference between an annual and a seasonal rental in Wellington?
Mostly timing and tax. Wellington’s winter show season opens with the Winter Equestrian Festival, whose 2027 Premiere Week runs January 6 to 10, and the festival continues into late March; polo at the National Polo Center has run from late December into early May. In Palm Beach County, rentals of six months or less owe the 6% Tourist Development Tax plus state sales tax, and the landlord registers to collect it. Leases longer than six months fall outside that tax. I help renters with both.
Does my HOA have to approve a renter?
It depends on the community. Many associations have their own lease rules, such as an application, an approval step or a minimum lease term, and those rules vary from one community to the next. They live in the association’s governing documents, so that is where we look first, before anyone signs a lease. If you’re the renter, it helps to have your application details ready so an approval step doesn’t push back your move-in date.
Let's find it
Tell me about your dates.
Annual or seasonal, the area, your budget and your move-in date. A few lines is plenty.
What happens next
Step 1: You send a note
A few lines about your move is plenty. Buying, selling, renting or just curious.
Step 2: I reply personally
By text or email, from me, not a call center. No sales calls, no pressure.
Step 3: We make a plan
If it’s a fit, we set a time to talk through your goals, timing and next steps.
Rather text? Text (561) 693-7123