Short answer: If you are moving to Miami with a dog for 3 to 5 months, your problem is not finding a building that allows pets. It is finding one that passes two separate filters at once: a lease term short enough for a snowbird season, and a pet rule written for tenants — not owners. At October 2026 medians, a 2-bedroom rents for about $2,900 a month in Miami (Zumper). A 4-month season is $13,108 with the 13% transient tax, and the dog adds about $730 in standardized pet costs — a $500 one-time pet fee, $50 a month in pet rent and a $30 screening. That $730 is the easy part. The hard part is the paper: in Brickell on the River, the published limit is 50 pounds for owners and only 25 pounds for tenants. Your dog can fit the building and still not fit your lease.
Updated: October 24, 2026.
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Moving to Miami with a dog: the cost of living in Miami for a 4-month snowbird season
Start with the full season price, dog included, so you can compare buildings on the same math.
| 4-month season, 2-bedroom, one dog | Cost |
|---|---|
| Monthly rent (October 2026 median, Zumper) | $2,900 |
| Rent for 4 months | $11,600 |
| Transient tax at 13% (leases of 6 months or less) | $1,508 |
| Pet rent at $50 a month for 4 months | $200 |
| One-time pet fee plus pet screening | $500 + $30 |
| Season total on this model | $13,838 |
These are unfurnished annual medians used as the base. Furnished seasonal rentals are quoted above them — but the dog layer stays in the same range almost everywhere: $300 to $500 one time, $25 to $100 a month, and a screening profile of about $30 per pet in the large rental communities that use one.
The tax line does not change because you bring a dog. It changes because of duration: only a bona fide written lease for more than 6 months is exempt, under Florida Statutes Section 212.03.
The two filters: lease term first, dog second
Filter 1 is the calendar. Most Miami condo associations set a 12-month minimum lease. That alone ends a 3 to 5 month search, no matter what the listing says about dogs.
Filter 2 is the tenant pet rule. It is a different rule from the owner pet rule, in the same building, in the same document.
These are the lanes that can pass both filters — verify each one in writing before you pay, because association rules change:
Rental-only towers with a 90-day lane. Panorama Tower in Brickell is rental-only, works with a 90-day minimum, and publishes its pet process openly: management approval before you move in, a health certificate and license listing breed, age, weight, height and vaccinations, a photo of your dog for the building file, and breed restrictions — no aggressive breeds. It is the most predictable route for a 3-month stay with a medium dog.
The few flexible condos. Dua Miami allows renting 4 times a year with a 30-day minimum, and Four Seasons Residences in Brickell has been listed with no rental restrictions — but its published pet limit is 25 pounds and condo approval is required. Flexible on the calendar does not mean flexible on the dog.
Six-month condos, only for a full season. Icon Brickell allows dogs up to 50 pounds, and Icon and Imperial both require a 6-month minimum lease. A November to April season fits. A 3 or 4 month stay does not, however friendly the pet policy looks. We mapped these buildings in the Brickell buildings that actually allow seasonal snowbird leases.
Houses, where there is no building at all. In a single-family house, the pet decision belongs to the landlord and the landlord’s insurer — no association weight limit, no tenant-versus-owner split, and usually a yard. For a dog over 50 pounds, this is often the only lane that works, and it is why so many large-dog snowbirds end up in houses in Coconut Grove, Coral Gables and Miami Shores instead of towers.
What the tenant rule really looks like
Published pet lists for Miami condos show the same pattern again and again. Brickell on the River: 50 pounds for owners, 25 pounds for tenants, plus a $250 pet fee. Axis in Brickell: no restriction for owners, 30 pounds for tenants. Grove Isle: 25 pounds — and a minimum lease of 3 years, which quietly removes every snowbird. 500 Brickell is one of the rare exceptions listed with no pet restrictions for tenants.
Some associations go further and allow pets for owners only. Registration forms in Florida buildings state it plainly: renters are not allowed to have pets. If that sentence is in the declaration for your building, your landlord cannot overrule it by being nice in a text message.
Get three things in writing before you send a deposit: the building’s minimum lease term, the tenant pet rule with the exact weight and breed list, and whether the association charges its own deposit. On deposits, Florida sets no cap on the landlord’s deposit (Section 83.49), and a condo association can add its own deposit of up to one month of rent, with its approval fee capped at $150 per applicant (Section 718.112). We break down every layer in how Miami security deposits actually work.
Worst-case move-in cash on the model condo: first month with tax $3,277, one month to the landlord, up to one month to the association, $150 approval, $500 pet fee and $30 screening — up to $9,757 before you have spent a night there.
What most people don’t know
1. Florida’s 2023 breed law does not protect you inside a private condo. Since October 1, 2023, no city, county or public housing authority in Florida can ban a dog by breed, weight or size (Section 767.14) — that is the law that ended Miami-Dade’s old pit bull ban. It does not bind private associations, private landlords or their insurers. Your building can still enforce its own breed and weight list, legally.
2. A season in Miami-Dade comes with county dog paperwork. Rabies vaccination is required for dogs from 4 months old, and a county license tag is required for every dog over 4 months: $30 a year for a sterilized dog, $55 if intact, from Miami-Dade Animal Services. You do not need to be a county resident to register, and the county’s own exemption is for dogs staying less than 30 days. A 3 to 5 month season is well past that. Dogs must also stay leashed and under control in public places and in your building’s common areas (Miami-Dade County Code, Chapter 5).
3. Pet screening is now a file, not a handshake. Large rental communities run your dog through a screening service: about $30 per household profile, with breed, weight, photos and vaccination records — and a hard breed list behind it. One Miami-area example caps each pet at 120 pounds, allows 2 pets, charges a $500 one-time fee and $25 to $30 a month, and restricts pit bull types, Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Dobermans, Akitas, Mastiffs, Chows and Presa Canarios, including mixes. Apply with the dog’s real breed and weight: a mismatch discovered at move-in can end the lease.
4. An assistance animal is not a pet — and a bought certificate is not proof. If you have a disability-related need, Florida law (Section 760.27) and fair housing rules treat an emotional support animal as an accommodation, not a pet: no pet fee, no pet deposit, no pet rent, and pet weight and breed caps do not apply the same way. But the support must come from a health care professional who actually knows you — a registration or certificate bought online, on its own, is not sufficient under the statute, and faking documentation is a second-degree misdemeanor in Florida (Section 817.265). You remain liable for any damage the animal actually causes. Service animals trained for specific tasks sit under Section 413.08; support animals have housing rights, not public-access rights.
5. The dog can slow the approval clock. Condo approval commonly takes 2 to 4 weeks, and a pet adds documents to the package: vaccination record, photo, weight and breed declaration, sometimes an interview with management. For a January 1 start with a dog, a search that begins in mid-December is already late. Our snowbird checklist for a 3-month furnished lease covers the questions to ask before that clock starts, and Canadian snowbirds will find their own stay and tax rules in our Canadian snowbird guide to a Miami winter.
So where should a snowbird with a dog actually land?
Small dog, under 25 pounds, 3 months: you have the widest map. Rental-only towers and the flexible condos are open to you — start there, in the best neighborhoods in Miami for walking a dog daily, like Brickell, Coconut Grove and Edgewater.
Medium dog, 25 to 50 pounds: your map shrinks to buildings whose tenant limit — not owner limit — clears your dog, plus houses. Read the tenant line, every time.
Large dog, over 50 pounds, or a breed on most lists: skip the towers and price houses first. You will save weeks of rejections, and the yard replaces the dog run the building was never going to give you.
Either way, run both filters before you fall for a listing, and browse the full playbook in our Miami relocation guides hub.
Frequently asked questions
Can I rent in Miami for 3 to 5 months with a dog?
Yes, but only in buildings that pass both filters: a minimum lease term of 90 days or less (or a 6-month minimum if your season is a full 6 months) and a tenant pet rule that accepts your dog’s weight and breed. Rental-only towers, a few flexible condos and single-family houses are the working lanes.
How much extra does a dog cost in a Miami seasonal rental?
On standardized policies, about $730 over a 4-month season: a one-time pet fee of $300 to $500 (we model $500), pet rent of $25 to $100 a month (we model $50) and a screening profile of about $30 — on top of rent and the 13% transient tax. A condo association can also require its own refundable deposit of up to one month of rent.
My landlord said dogs are fine. Is that enough?
No. In a condo, the association’s documents decide, and they can set a lower weight limit for tenants than for owners — or allow pets for owners only. Get the minimum lease term and the tenant pet rule in writing from the association or management before you pay a deposit.
Didn’t Florida ban breed restrictions in 2023?
For governments and public housing, yes — Section 767.14 ended breed, weight and size bans by cities, counties and public housing authorities, including Miami-Dade’s old pit bull ban. Private condo associations, private landlords and insurers can still keep their own breed and weight rules.
Yara Coker — SETTLE, relocation services in Miami.
Want help with your move to Miami?
Tell SETTLE your dates, your dog’s breed and weight, and the neighborhoods you like — we will filter buildings by lease term and tenant pet rule at the same time, verify the rule in writing with management, and price the full season with the dog layer included before you sign. More guides like this one live in our Miami relocation guides hub.
Sources
Miami rent medians (overall $3,000; 1-bedroom $2,500; 2-bedroom $2,900; 3-bedroom $3,750; 6,297 rentals), updated October 24, 2026: Zumper rent research, Miami, FL. Transient rental tax 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%. Security deposits with no state cap: Florida Statutes Section 83.49. Condo association deposit of up to one month of rent and approval fee capped at $150 per applicant: Florida Statutes Section 718.112(2). Panorama Tower pet policy (management approval before occupancy; health certificate and license specifying breed, age, weight, height and vaccinations; photograph of the pet; breed restrictions, no aggressive breeds) and rental-only format with a 90-day minimum: Panorama Tower official site and building pages, checked October 2026. Published condo pet limits by owner versus tenant (Brickell on the River 50 lbs owner / 25 lbs tenant plus $250 pet fee; Axis no restriction owner / 30 lbs tenant; Grove Isle 25 lbs with a 3-year minimum lease; 500 Brickell no restrictions; Icon Brickell 50 lbs; Four Seasons Residences 25 lbs with condo approval): South Florida pet-friendly condo listings, condos-southflorida.com, checked October 24, 2026. Brickell minimum lease terms (Icon and Imperial 6 months; Dua Miami 4 leases a year with a 30-day minimum; Four Seasons listed with no rental restrictions): SETTLE Brickell buildings research, verified October 14, 2026 from association and MLS sources. Pet fees in Miami-area rental communities (one-time fee $500 per pet, pet rent $25-$30 a month, $30 screening profile, 2-pet limit, 120-pound limit and a named breed restriction list at Modera communities; $300 pet deposit, $35 pet rent and $25 screening at Arte Grand Central) and Miami market ranges for pet fees ($300-$500 one time) and pet rent ($50-$100 a month): community fee schedules and AptAmigo Miami pet policy data, checked October 2026. Dog breed, weight and size regulations barred for local governments and public housing authorities from October 1, 2023, ending Miami-Dade’s breed ban — private associations and landlords not covered: Florida Statutes Section 767.14, as amended by Senate Bill 942 (2023). Rabies vaccination from 4 months and license tags required for all dogs over 4 months, $30 sterilized / $55 intact for one year and $90 / $165 for three years, registration open to non-residents, with the county exemption framed for dogs staying less than 30 days; leash and at-large rules: Miami-Dade County Animal Services and Miami-Dade County Code Chapter 5. Emotional support animals as a housing accommodation with no pet fee, deposit or pet rent, documentation from a health care practitioner with personal knowledge, an internet registration alone not sufficient, and liability for actual damage: Florida Statutes Section 760.27. Falsifying emotional support animal documentation as a second-degree misdemeanor: Florida Statutes Section 817.265. Service animals: Florida Statutes Section 413.08.
Versión en español: Vivir en Miami con tu perro en invierno: la mayoría de los edificios dice sí a las mascotas — y no a tu arriendo de 4 meses
