Short answer: Moving to Miami and asking about the literal question — “Subletting rules in Miami buildings” — the answer is that Florida law does not give you the right, and it does not take it away either. The Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Chapter 83, Part II) never regulates subletting at all, so your lease decides. Under the Florida Bar’s standard lease forms, that decision is already made for most renters: clause 11 says you may not assign or sublease any part of the home without the landlord’s written approval first, unless a specific box was checked. And in Miami a landlord’s yes is only the first of three doors: the lease, the landlord, and — in a condo — the association, which runs its own application, can charge up to $150 per applicant by law (Fla. Stat. §718.112), and can require its own deposit of up to one month’s rent. On a median Miami 1-bedroom at $2,500 a month (Zumper, October 2026), doing this wrong is not a technicality: if your subtenant stops paying with 5 months left, the $12,500 is still yours. That exposure is a real, hidden line of the cost of living in Miami.
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Moving to Miami: the 3 doors every sublet has to pass
Most sublet advice treats this as one phone call to the landlord. In Miami buildings it is a sequence, and failing any step voids the ones after it.
| Door | Who decides | What they check | Cost / timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. The lease clause | The paper you already signed | Is subletting banned outright, allowed with written consent, or not mentioned at all? | $0 — but read it before you list anything |
| 2. The landlord | Owner or property manager | The subtenant’s income, credit and rental history — expect the same screening as a new applicant | Written consent; your liability does NOT end (see below) |
| 3. The building | Condo association or HOA | Its own application, background check, minimum lease term and how many rentals per year the unit is allowed | Fee capped at $150 per applicant by §718.112; association deposit up to 1 month’s rent; typically 1–2 weeks in practice |
Door 3 is the one newcomers miss, because in many cities it does not exist. In a Miami condo, the owner you rent from does not control the building: the declaration does. Some buildings ban sublets entirely during the first year of a lease, cap how many times a unit can be rented in a year, or set a minimum term of 6 or 12 months. Ask management two questions before you promise anyone a date: does this unit still have rental capacity this year, and what is the minimum term this building allows? If you are still choosing where to live, this is one more reason the building matters as much as the neighborhood — compare options in the Miami relocation guides hub before you sign a lease you may need to exit early.
Subletting rules in Miami buildings: what your lease clause really says
Your clause will be one of three versions, and each one changes your plan completely:
- Flat ban. “Tenant shall not assign or sublet under any circumstances.” There is no approval to ask for. Your legal options are negotiating a surrender, or the early-termination route — if you signed the §83.595 liquidated-damages addendum, leaving early costs up to 2 months’ rent ($5,000 on a $2,500 lease), a fixed number you can compare against everything below.
- Consent required (the most common). The Florida Bar form language: unless the box is checked, you may not sublease without first obtaining the landlord’s written approval. Send the request in writing, with the subtenant’s application package attached — landlords deny vague requests and approve documented ones. Note whether your clause says consent “shall not be unreasonably withheld” or is at the landlord’s “sole discretion”: the first gives you an argument, the second gives the landlord a veto.
- Silence. If the lease truly says nothing, Florida’s traditional common-law position favors the tenant’s freedom to transfer. Treat that as a reason to notify in writing anyway, not as a loophole: the building’s rules (door 3) can still block the move, and a surprised landlord reads every other clause of your lease more strictly from that day on.
One distinction that changes everything: a sublet is not an assignment. In a sublet you keep your lease, the subtenant pays you, you pay the landlord, and you remain fully liable for rent and damage — there is no direct contract between your subtenant and your landlord. In an assignment, you hand the lease itself over, and only a written release from the landlord actually cuts your liability. If your goal is to leave Miami for good, ask for an assignment with a release, or a negotiated surrender — not a sublet that follows you to your next city. Before any deposit changes hands in either structure, read how security deposits in Miami work under Florida’s §83.49 rules — the deposit clocks and written notices apply to your money exactly the same way.
What most people don’t know
An unauthorized sublet has a statutory cure clock — and it only ticks once. Under Fla. Stat. §83.56(2), a curable lease violation gets a written 7-day notice to cure: remove the unauthorized occupant or obtain consent within 7 days, or the landlord may terminate the lease. Cure it and you survive — but if the same conduct repeats within 12 months, the landlord can terminate without a second chance to cure. So the “move my cousin in now, ask later” plan spends the only warning you get.
The association’s $150 cap is law, and so is its second deposit. Section 718.112(2)(k) says a condo association may charge for approving a lease or sublease only if its documents require approval and authorize a fee, and never more than $150 per applicant — spouses, or parents with dependent children, count as one applicant. No fee at all may be charged when the same subtenant renews. Separately, if the declaration or bylaws authorize it, the association can require the incoming subtenant to place a security deposit of up to one month’s rent in escrow, handled under the same Chapter 83 rules as a landlord deposit. A building demanding a $400 “application fee” is over the cap; a building demanding a month’s deposit on top of the landlord’s may be entirely within its rights.
A short sublet can quietly become a hotel — with hotel taxes, or a ban. Florida’s transient rental tax exemption (§212.03) only protects a bona fide written lease for more than 6 months. Sublet for 4 months and the rent is generally subject to the transient tax stack — roughly 13% in Miami-Dade — which on 4 months at $2,500 is about $1,300 nobody budgeted. In Miami Beach it is worse than a tax: rentals of less than six months and one day are prohibited in most residential districts, so a 3-month sublet there can be illegal no matter what your landlord signed. The same 6-month line is what makes seasonal stays so specific — it is the backbone of how winter snowbird rentals in Miami are structured, and it applies to your sublet too.
The building’s anti-rental rule may not legally reach your unit — or it may, by design. Under §718.110(13), a condo amendment that bans rentals, changes their duration or caps their frequency applies only to owners who consented to it and to owners who bought after it took effect. HOAs are different: under §720.306(1)(h), most post-2021 rental restrictions also only bind later buyers — except amendments prohibiting or regulating rentals under 6 months and capping rentals at 3 per calendar year, which apply to everyone. When management quotes a rule at you, the useful question is not “does the rule exist?” but “when was it adopted, and does it reach this unit?”
The numbers: approved sublet vs. breaking the lease vs. doing it anyway
| Route | What it costs on a $2,500/mo 1-bedroom | Your remaining risk |
|---|---|---|
| Approved sublet | Association fee ≤$150 per applicant + association deposit ≤$2,500 (refundable) + landlord screening, if any | You stay liable for the subtenant’s rent and damage until the lease ends |
| Assignment with written release | Same screening and building fees, if the landlord agrees | Liability can actually end — the only clean exit besides surrender |
| Early termination (§83.595 addendum signed) | Up to 2 months = $5,000, plus rent through the notice period the addendum sets | Ends on a known date for a known price |
| Unauthorized sublet | $0 up front | 7-day cure notice under §83.56; a repeat within 12 months can end the lease with no cure — and an eviction filing follows your rental history |
SETTLE arithmetic, stated plainly: with 5 months left, an approved sublet risks up to $12,500 only if your subtenant defaults — which proper screening makes unlikely — while the signed early-termination route costs $5,000 for certain. The sublet wins when the subtenant is solid and the building approves; the buyout wins when you need certainty more than savings. What never wins is the unauthorized version: it converts a money problem into a legal record.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sublet my Miami apartment if my lease doesn’t mention subletting? Probably, under Florida’s traditional rule favoring a tenant’s freedom to transfer when the lease is silent — but “probably” is doing heavy lifting. The building’s declaration can still ban or condition it, and notifying the landlord in writing costs you nothing and prevents the dispute. Never rely on silence in a condo until management confirms the building allows it.
How much can a Miami condo association charge my subtenant? By law (§718.112(2)(k)), at most $150 per applicant for the approval fee, and only if the association is required to approve the transfer and the fee is authorized in its documents. Spouses or parents with dependent children count as one applicant, renewals with the same subtenant are free, and a separate refundable deposit of up to one month’s rent may also be required if the declaration or bylaws allow it.
If I sublet, am I still responsible for the rent? Yes. In a sublet your lease with the landlord stays in force: the subtenant pays you, you pay the landlord, and if the subtenant stops paying, the landlord collects from you. The only structures that can end that liability are an assignment with the landlord’s written release, or a negotiated surrender of the lease.
Can I sublet on Airbnb for a few months while I travel? That is the riskiest version, not the easiest. Stays under 6 months generally lose the §212.03 exemption and attract roughly 13% in transient taxes in Miami-Dade; Miami Beach prohibits rentals under six months and one day in most residential districts; and most condo declarations ban transient use outright regardless of zoning. A long trip is a reason to negotiate a proper sublet or a surrender — not to list the unit.
Figures reflect Fla. Stat. §§83.56, 83.49, 83.595, 212.03, 718.110, 718.112 and 720.306 (official texts consulted October 18, 2026), Florida Bar lease-form language, and Zumper Miami medians updated October 18, 2026. Building rules vary by declaration — this is general information, not legal advice.
Yara Coker — SETTLE, relocation services in Miami.
Want help with your move to Miami?
Stuck mid-lease in Miami — or signing one you might need to exit? SETTLE reads the sublet and assignment clause before you sign, checks the building’s rental rules and approval timeline, and prices the sublet against the early-termination route so you choose with real numbers. Tell us where you are in the process:
Versión en español: Vivir en Miami: Reglas de subarriendo en edificios de Miami
