Hiring a property manager in Florida

What licence they actually need

The distinction between the third and fourth rows catches people. A community association manager runs an HOA or condominium on behalf of its board. A property manager runs an individual owner’s rental. They are different licences for different work, and one does not substitute for the other.

Do you even need one?

• You live far from the property. The strongest case, and it does not much matter how good you would be at it.
• You have several units, where the time cost becomes real.
• You do not want to handle the legal machinery. Deposits, notices and evictions all run on statutory deadlines that punish improvisation.
• Short-term letting, where turnover, licensing and tax filing make self-management a job rather than a task.

Against that: a single long-term rental near where you live, with a good tenant, is genuinely manageable yourself, and management fees are a meaningful share of a modest yield. Being told you need a manager by someone who sells management is not evidence.

The statutory machinery they are handling for you

• Deposits. 15 days^† to return in full or 30 days^† to give written notice of a claim. Missing both forfeits the right to claim at all.
• Notices. 3 days, excluding weekends and legal holidays^† for unpaid rent, and the three-day notice has a statutory form that cannot be paraphrased without risking the whole eviction.
• Ending a tenancy. 30 days^† for month-to-month — raised from fifteen days in 2023, and a manager still using the old figure is a warning sign in itself.
• Short-term tax. 6%^† state sales tax, local surtax, and county tourist development tax — with platforms collecting some of it in some counties and not others.

What to ask before signing

1. What is your broker licence number? Then check it yourself against the business name.
2. Where is my money held, and whose account is it? Rent and deposits should be in an escrow or trust account, not mixed with operating funds.
3. How and when do I get statements? Monthly, itemised, with invoices attached.
4. What is the repair threshold before you call me? Get a figure, in writing.
5. Do you or an affiliate do the maintenance? Not automatically wrong, but it is a conflict and you should know about it and see the pricing.
6. What are all the fees? Management percentage, letting fee, renewal fee, vacancy fee, eviction handling, markup on repairs. The headline percentage is rarely the whole cost.
7. How do I terminate, and what happens to the deposits? Read this before signing, because it is the clause you will care about most.

Warning signs

• Any reference to a “property management licence”.
• Reluctance to give a broker licence number, or a number in a different name from the business.
• Deposits held in a general operating account.
• A long term with no termination right, or a large exit fee.
• Marking up repairs without disclosing it.
• Using outdated notice periods, which tells you how current the rest of their practice is.

What you remain responsible for

A manager acts for you, which means their errors are frequently your exposure. Fair housing obligations apply to the property regardless of who screens the tenants, deposit handling failures land on the owner, and an unlawful notice served by your manager is an eviction you lose. Delegation is not transfer, and it is worth reading the management agreement for what it says about who carries what.

Brokerage activity is governed by Chapter 475 of the Florida Statutes, community association management by §468.432, and tenancies by Chapter 83. Management agreements vary widely — read yours on fees, escrow and termination before signing.