Short answer: If you are moving to Miami for the winter, a condo is usually the cheaper snowbird season — and it is not close once you count everything. At October 2026 medians, a 2-bedroom condo rents for about $2,900 a month and a single-family house for about $3,700 (Zumper and Homes.com). Over a 4-month season with the 13% transient tax, that is $13,108 for the condo vs. $16,724 for the house. If the house lease also puts pool and lawn care on you — about $375 a month in Miami — the gap grows to roughly $5,116. The house buys you space, a yard and no building approval. The condo buys you zero upkeep. That trade, not the rent alone, is the real cost of living in Miami decision.
Updated: October 23, 2026.
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Moving to Miami: condo vs. single-family house for a snowbird winter, cost and upkeep compared
Start with the rent gap, because it is real — then look at what sits underneath it.
| 4-month snowbird season | Condo (2-bed) | Single-family house (3-bed) |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly rent (Oct 2026 median) | $2,900 | $3,700 |
| Rent for 4 months | $11,600 | $14,800 |
| Transient tax at 13% (leases of 6 months or less) | $1,508 | $1,924 |
| Pool and lawn care paid by the tenant | $0 — the building handles it | About $375/month if your lease assigns it to you: $1,500 a season |
| Season total on this model | $13,108 | $16,724 — or $18,224 with upkeep assigned |
These are annual, unfurnished medians used as the base. Furnished seasonal rentals are quoted above them in both property types — the structural gap stays the same.
The tax line deserves one sentence of its own: property type does not change it. A lease of 6 months or less carries the same roughly 13% in Miami-Dade whether you rent a condo or a house. Only a bona fide written lease for more than 6 months is exempt, under Florida Statutes Section 212.03.
Upkeep: who actually does the work in each option
In a condo, upkeep is invisible — because someone else does it. The association maintains the pool, the gym, the lobby, the roof and the exterior. As a tenant you clean your unit and call the owner if something breaks. That labor is not free: Miami-Dade high-rise association fees now average over $1,900 a month, pushed up by mandatory full reserve funding since 2025. You never write that check, but it sits inside your seasonal rent.
In a house, upkeep has your name on it if the lease says so. Weekly pool service in Miami runs $150 to $250 a month, chemicals included. Lawn care runs $100 to $400 a month, with typical bundled plans at $120 to $300. Add quarterly pest control and a larger electric bill — more square feet to cool, plus a pool pump running daily — and the house quietly adds $400 to $600 a month beyond rent when the lease assigns maintenance to the tenant.
Read the maintenance clause before you compare prices. The same house at the same rent can differ by $1,500 a season depending on one paragraph. Our snowbird checklist for a 3-month furnished lease walks through the exact questions to ask, for both property types.
Move-in cash: the condo has a second door to pay at
Florida law sets no cap on what a landlord can charge as a security deposit (Section 83.49, Florida Statutes) — the lease amount rules, for condos and houses alike.
A condo adds a second layer on top of the landlord. The association can require its own deposit of up to one month of rent, and its approval fee is capped by law at $150 per applicant, with spouses and dependent children counted as one applicant (Section 718.112). On a $2,900 condo, worst-case move-in cash is about $9,227: first month with tax, one month to the landlord, up to one month to the association, plus the approval fee.
A house usually has no association layer. On a $3,700 house, move-in cash is typically $7,881 to $11,581: first month with tax, plus a deposit of one to two months. If the house sits in an HOA community, screening may still apply — but there is no $150 statutory cap there, so ask the fee in writing. We break down every layer in how Miami security deposits actually work.
What most people don’t know
1. Two identical condos in the same building can have different rental rights. Under Section 718.110(13), a later amendment that bans rentals, shortens terms or caps how often an owner may rent applies only to owners who agreed to it or bought after it took effect. Whether your unit can legally be rented to you for 4 months can depend on when its owner bought it. Ask for the building’s rental rules in writing before you pay anything.
2. Condo approval takes time a house never asks for. Screening, an application package and a board or management review commonly take 2 to 4 weeks, and you cannot move in before approval. For a January 1 start, a condo search that begins in mid-December is already late. A house with no HOA can often sign and hand over keys in days.
3. The building decides your daily life, not the lease. Minimum lease terms, guest rules, pet limits, parking assignments and elevator reservations for move-in all come from the condo documents, and they override what a listing promised. In a house, the lease is the document — what you negotiate is what you get.
4. A house can be the cheaper choice for two couples sharing. The math above is per household. Two couples splitting a 3-bedroom house at $3,700 pay $1,850 each — less than one condo each at $2,900. Sharing only works if the lease allows all occupants by name; in a condo, the association must approve every adult occupant too. For the full-season picture, see the true cost of a 4-month snowbird season in Miami.
5. Canadians: the property type does not change your tax or stay rules. Days in Florida, exchange rates and rental taxes work the same in a condo or a house. What changes is availability near the communities you want — mapped in our Canadian snowbird guide to a Miami winter.
So which one fits your winter?
Choose the condo if you want to lock the door and live: no vendors to manage, amenities and security included, and the lowest total season cost in the best neighborhoods in Miami for walkability, like Brickell, Coconut Grove and Miami Beach.
Choose the house if you need the space: a yard for a dog, a private pool, room for visiting family, a garage, or a quieter residential street — and you accept managing (and possibly paying for) pool, lawn and pest service.
Either way, price the whole season before you sign, and browse the full playbook in our Miami relocation guides hub.
Frequently asked questions
Is a condo or a house cheaper for a snowbird winter in Miami?
On October 2026 medians, the condo — by about $800 a month in rent alone ($2,900 vs. $3,700), roughly $3,616 over a 4-month season after the 13% transient tax, and around $5,116 if the house lease also assigns pool and lawn care to you.
Do I pay the condo association fee as a tenant?
Not directly. The owner pays the association; the fee is built into your rent. What you may pay the association directly is a separate refundable deposit of up to one month of rent and an approval fee capped at $150 per applicant.
Who pays for pool and lawn care in a rented Miami house?
Whoever the lease names. Many seasonal house leases assign pool service ($150–$250 a month) and lawn care ($120–$300 a month typical) to the tenant; others include them in a higher rent. Get the assignment in the lease, not in a text message.
Does the 13% rental tax apply to houses too?
Yes. In Miami-Dade, rentals of 6 months or less carry roughly 13% in combined state and county taxes for condos and single-family houses alike. A bona fide written lease for more than 6 months of continuous residence is exempt under Section 212.03, Florida Statutes.
Yara Coker — SETTLE, relocation services in Miami.
Want help with your move to Miami?
Tell SETTLE your dates, your budget and whether you lean condo or house — we will price both options for your exact season, check building rental rules or the house maintenance clause before you sign, and sequence the deposits and approval so your start date holds. More guides like this one live in our Miami relocation guides hub.
Sources
Miami rent medians (overall $3,000; 2-bedroom $2,900; 3-bedroom $3,750), updated October 23, 2026: Zumper rent research, Miami, FL. Median rent by property type (single-family homes $3,700; condos $2,900): Homes.com rental trends, Miami, FL, checked October 23, 2026. Transient rental tax of 6% on rentals of 6 months or less, with exemption only for a bona fide written agreement for continuous residence longer than 6 months: Florida Statutes Section 212.03; combined Miami-Dade total of about 13% including county tourist taxes and the discretionary surtax: Miami-Dade County tax guidance. Security deposits with no state cap, 30-day written notice of how the deposit is held, return in 15 days without a claim or notice of claim within 30 days: Florida Statutes Section 83.49. Condo association deposit and transfer/approval fee capped at $150 per applicant (spouses and dependent children as one applicant): Florida Statutes Section 718.112(2). Rental-restriction amendments applying only to consenting owners and owners who acquire title after the amendment: Florida Statutes Section 718.110(13). Weekly pool service in Miami at $150–$250 per month, chemicals included: FloPool, 2026 Miami pool maintenance cost guide. Lawn care in Miami at $100–$400 per month (Angi 2026 cost data); typical bundled plans $120–$300 per month: HomeStars Miami. Miami-Dade high-rise association fees averaging over $1,900 per month, with mandatory Structural Integrity Reserve Study funding for budgets adopted on or after January 1, 2025: FirstService Residential Benchmark 2025, High-Rise Edition, as reported October 2026.
Versión en español: Vivir en Miami: condo vs. casa unifamiliar para un invierno snowbird — costo y mantenimiento comparados
