Renting in Edgewater: How Association Approval Actually Works

In an Edgewater tower the landlord is not the last word - the condominium association is. Florida law caps what that association may charge you at $150 per applicant, lets it hold up to one month's rent in escrow, and leaves almost everything else to the building's own declaration.

Published August 28, 2026

In an Edgewater tower the landlord is not the last word — the condominium association is, and its approval is the step that decides whether you move in on the first of the month or three weeks later. Florida law caps the association's approval fee at $150 per applicant, allows it to hold up to one month's rent in escrow, and leaves nearly everything else — minimum term, pets, move-in windows — to the individual building's declaration.

Almost every rental listing you will read for Edgewater talks about the unit. Very little of it talks about the layer sitting above the unit, which is where leases actually slow down or die. What follows is the statutory frame, because that is the part that is the same in every tower on the bay and the part you can hold someone to.

The approval layer nobody budgets time for

A condominium association can require its approval of a lease only where the declaration, articles or bylaws say so. Most Edgewater bayfront declarations do say so. Where they do, the association runs its own application on top of the landlord's: a form, a screening, sometimes an interview, then a board or management decision.

The practical consequence is that a lease has two clocks. The landlord may accept you on a Tuesday; the association may not meet until the following month. Before you give notice anywhere else, ask one question in writing: how often does the approval body meet, and what is the last date a complete application can be submitted for the next one? A leasing agent who cannot answer that from the building's own paperwork has not read it.

What the association can charge, and what it cannot

This is the part that is genuinely settled. Under s. 718.112(2)(k), Florida Statutes:

• An association may not charge a fee at all in connection with a lease unless it is required to approve the transfer and the fee is provided for in the declaration, articles or bylaws.
• Where a fee is allowed, it may not exceed $150 per applicant.
• Spouses, or a parent or parents and any dependent children, are counted as one applicant for that calculation.
• On a renewal with the same lessee, no charge may be made at all.
• If the governing documents authorize it, the association may require a prospective lessee to place a security deposit not exceeding one month's rent into an escrow account the association maintains.

That escrow deposit is separate from, and on top of, whatever the landlord holds. It is the single most common budgeting surprise I would flag to anyone leasing in a bayfront building for the first time: you can be asked for first month, last month, a landlord's security deposit and an association escrow deposit before you hold a key.

The $150 figure is per applicant, not per fee line. An association charging a $150 “application fee” and a separate $100 “processing fee” for the same approval is worth a written question, with the statute cited.

Why two units in the same tower can carry different rules

This one surprises people, and it matters when you are comparing two listings in the same building. Under s. 718.110(13), Florida Statutes, an amendment that prohibits owners from renting, changes the permitted rental term, or limits how many times a unit may be rented in a period applies only to owners who consented to it and owners who took title after it took effect.

So a building that voted in a six-month minimum in 2021 still contains units, owned since before that vote by owners who did not consent, that are not bound by it. Two identical lines on a rental portal, same tower, same stack — different legal position. The listing will not tell you which is which. The declaration and its amendments will.

The documents you are entitled to read first

Section 718.111(12), Florida Statutes does two useful things for a renter.

First, an association operating a condominium of 25 or more units that contains no timeshare units must post its official records to a website or application, and must do so within 30 days of receiving or creating the record. That set includes the declaration, bylaws, articles, rules, the past 12 months of board minutes, budgets, financial reports, inspection reports and the structural integrity reserve study. Every full-size Edgewater tower clears the 25-unit threshold.

Second, a renter's inspection right is real but narrow: a tenant may inspect the declaration, the bylaws, the rules and the inspection reports. Not the budget, not the minutes. Records must be produced within 10 working days of a written request, and failure creates a presumption of willful noncompliance.

Read the rules before you sign, not after. Pet weight limits, move-in hours, elevator reservation requirements and guest parking are all rule-level items, and they are the ones that turn into a problem in week two.

The risk that is specific to renting inside a condominium

If your landlord falls behind on assessments, s. 718.116(11), Florida Statutes lets the association demand that you pay your rent directly to the association until the owner's obligation is satisfied. You are not a party to that dispute and you did not cause it, but you are the one who receives the demand letter.

You cannot fully protect against this, but you can look at it before you sign. Ask the landlord for a current estoppel certificate. Under s. 718.116(8) the association must issue one within 10 business days of a written request, and where no delinquency exists the fee is capped at $250. An owner who will not spend $250 to show you the unit is current has told you something.

Deposit and notice rules are state law now, not county law

A lot of Miami rental advice still circulating online cites Miami-Dade County's 2022 Tenant's Bill of Rights, and in particular a 60-day notice requirement for large rent increases. Treat that carefully. In 2023 the Legislature enacted s. 83.425, Florida Statutes (ch. 2023-314, Laws of Florida), which preempts the regulation of residential tenancies and the landlord-tenant relationship to the state — expressly including screening, security deposits, application fees, lease terms, disclosures, landlord fees and notice requirements. Local ordinances in that space no longer do the work people assume they do.

What does apply, statewide:

• Deposits. Under s. 83.49, your deposit and advance rent must sit in a separate Florida account or be bonded, and you must get written notice of where — in the lease itself or within 30 days of the landlord receiving the money.
• Getting it back. No claim against the deposit: returned within 15 days of the tenancy ending. A claim: written notice within 30 days, you have 15 days to object in writing, and the balance is due within 30 days of that notice.
• Ending a tenancy with no fixed term. Under s. 83.57: 60 days for year-to-year, 30 days for month-to-month, 7 days for week-to-week.

What I would actually do, in order

1. Get the declaration, rules and any rental amendments before making an application — they are posted, and if they are not, request them in writing and start the 10-working-day clock.
2. Confirm in writing how often approval happens and the submission cut-off.
3. Total the real cash at signing: first, last, landlord deposit, association escrow up to one month, and the approval fee at $150 per applicant.
4. Ask for a current estoppel certificate.
5. Check whether the unit you want is actually bound by the building's current rental minimum, or predates it.

None of this is exotic. It is just the part of an Edgewater lease that happens above the unit, where the listing photos do not reach.

Frequently asked questions

Can an Edgewater condo association refuse to approve me as a tenant?

Where the declaration gives it approval authority, an association can withhold approval, but that authority is not unlimited: it is constrained by the governing documents themselves and by federal and Florida fair housing law, which prohibit refusal on protected grounds. If you are declined, ask for the reason in writing.

How much can an association charge me to apply for a lease?

No more than $150 per applicant, and only where approval is required and the fee is set out in the declaration, articles or bylaws (s. 718.112(2)(k)). Spouses and a parent with dependent children count as a single applicant, and a renewal with the same lessee cannot be charged at all.

Can the association hold a security deposit as well as my landlord?

Yes, if the governing documents authorize it. The statute permits an association-held escrow deposit of up to the equivalent of one month's rent, in addition to anything the landlord holds under s. 83.49.

What happens to my lease if my landlord stops paying HOA dues?

Under s. 718.116(11) the association may demand you pay rent directly to it until the owner's delinquency is cured. Your lease does not end, but where your rent goes can change without your agreement.

Does Miami-Dade's 60-day rent-increase notice rule still protect me?

Do not rely on it without checking. Section 83.425, Florida Statutes, enacted in 2023, preempts local regulation of residential tenancies to the state, including notice requirements. Whatever notice your lease itself requires is a separate contractual question — read the lease.

Is this legal advice?

No. I am a licensed real estate sales associate, not an attorney. Statutes are amended every session and how they apply turns on your building's declaration and your lease. For a decision that turns on the law, retain a Florida attorney.

Work with Stefania

Trying to work out what a specific Edgewater tower will actually require of you before you commit? I will pull the building's declaration, current rules and rental amendments, confirm in writing when the approval body next meets and what the submission cut-off is, total the real cash due at signing including any association escrow, and request the estoppel certificate so you know the unit is current before you sign anything.

A purchase runs this same approval gate, but at the end of a much longer document sequence. What to read before you close, and when sets out the order.

Stefania Riverin · NB Elite Realty · (786) 828-0091 · WhatsApp · Call

Stefania Riverin, Licensed Real Estate Sales Associate · FL SL3620067 · Brokered by NB Elite Realty · 1101 Brickell Ave, Miami, FL 33131 · Equal Housing Opportunity