You can’t legally run a property management company in Florida for other owners without a real estate license, and to own the company you need a broker’s license. That broker license requires 24 months as a licensed sales associate first. Plan around that timeline before anything else, because the LLC, insurance and software are the easy parts.
Do you need a real estate license to manage property in Florida?
Yes, if you do any of these for someone else:
- Lease, rent, or offer to lease or rent real property
- Collect rent on behalf of property owners
- Negotiate or advertise rentals
- Show or list rental properties
A few situations don’t need a license: managing your own property, working as an employed on-site manager at a specific property, managing property owned by a family member, and salaried employees of an owner doing incidental management tasks.
How do you get licensed?
The sales associate license
- Complete a 63-hour pre-license course from an approved provider. Online courses are available and cost $200-$500. They cover Florida real estate law, contracts and property management.
- Pass the Florida real estate sales associate exam, administered by Pearson VUE. It’s 100 questions in 3.5 hours, you need 75% to pass, and it costs $36.75.
- Submit fingerprints for a background check ($52.50).
- Apply to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). The application fee is $83.75.
The broker license
This is the catch. A sales associate license lets you manage property under someone else’s brokerage, but owning a property management company in Florida takes a broker’s license. To get one, you need to:
- Hold an active Florida sales associate license for at least 24 months in the preceding 5 years
- Complete 72 hours of broker pre-license education
- Pass the broker state exam
- Complete post-license education
If you’re newly licensed, you have two realistic paths. Work as a property manager under an existing broker while you build your 24 months, or partner with a licensed broker who handles the licensed activities while you run business development and operations.
We’d take the first path if you can. Two years inside someone else’s brokerage teaches you trust accounting, owner reporting and evictions on their license instead of yours.
How do you set up the LLC for a property management company in Florida?
You’ll handle tenant disputes and large sums of other people’s money. An LLC keeps a lawsuit from a tenant or owner away from your personal assets, makes partnerships easy to structure, and lets you choose pass-through taxation or an S corp election.
- Choose a name. Check availability on the Florida Division of Corporations (Sunbiz) site. It must include “LLC.” Something that sounds established and isn’t tied to one small area will age better as you grow.
- File Articles of Organization. File online through Sunbiz for $125. Processing takes 2-3 business days.
- Write an operating agreement that sets ownership percentages, roles and procedures. Don’t skip it if you have partners.
- Get an EIN. It’s free from the IRS at irs.gov.
- Open your bank accounts. You’ll need an operating account for business expenses and trust accounts for security deposits and rent you’re holding for owners.
Once you have your broker license, register the LLC as a real estate brokerage with DBPR. You submit an application for broker registration, designate the LLC as the legal entity, and pay the applicable fees.
What are Florida’s trust account rules?
Florida law requires property managers to hold client money in separate trust accounts. Set them up carefully.
You’ll keep one trust account for tenant security deposits, never mixed with operating funds, and one for rent you’ve collected until you pay it out to owners, with a clear accounting of each owner’s money.
Both accounts have to meet these rules:
- Held at a Florida bank or credit union
- Account name includes “trust” or “escrow”
- Reconciled monthly
- Detailed records of every transaction
- Available for a DBPR audit
Breaking trust account rules can lead to license revocation and criminal charges. Do a self-audit regularly, not just when DBPR asks.
What insurance does a property manager need?
| Coverage | What it covers | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
| General liability ($1,000,000 per occurrence typical) | Third-party bodily injury and property damage | $1,000-$2,500 a year |
| Professional liability, or E&O ($1,000,000 typical) | Poor tenant screening, lease errors, property damage from negligence, fair housing claims | $1,500-$3,000 a year |
| Fidelity bond or crime insurance | Employee theft and dishonesty, which some owners require | $500-$1,500 a year |
E&O is the one we wouldn’t go without, since it covers the screening and lease mistakes general liability doesn’t.
Workers’ compensation is required in Florida once you have 4 or more employees. Cyber liability, commercial auto for employees driving to showings, and an umbrella policy are worth pricing too.
What software do you need?
Look for tenant and owner portals, trust accounting with owner distributions, leasing and screening, maintenance work orders, and vacancy listing syndication.
| Software | Monthly cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Buildium | $55-$375 | Small to mid-size portfolios |
| AppFolio | $1.40/unit (min $280) | Growing companies |
| Rent Manager | $1/unit + modules | Larger portfolios |
| Propertyware | Custom pricing | Single-family portfolios |
Budget $100-$500 a month to start. The cost scales with your portfolio. Whatever you pick, make sure the trust accounting holds up, because that’s the part DBPR looks at.
How much should you charge?
Most Florida managers charge a percentage of rent collected, usually 8-12%. 10% is standard in many Florida markets, and it may drop for larger portfolios. A flat fee of $75-$150 per unit is predictable for owners but risky for you if rents are low. Some companies combine a base fee with a percentage or tier pricing by portfolio size.
Most also charge for specific services:
| Service | Typical fee |
|---|---|
| Leasing/tenant placement | 50-100% of first month’s rent |
| Lease renewal | $100-$250 |
| Eviction coordination | $200-$500 |
| Property inspections | $50-$100 |
| Maintenance markup | 10-20% of vendor invoices |
| Setup fee (new properties) | $200-$500 |
Check local competitors’ pricing against your overhead and profit targets. Starting slightly below market while you build a reputation is common, but raise rates as your track record grows.
Which legal documents do you need?
The management agreement with each owner should set out your services and what’s excluded, your repair spending limits, every fee, the term and termination notice, what happens to current leases if it ends, how you hold and disburse trust funds, the owner’s insurance and reserve obligations, and your liability limits and indemnification.
Your lease needs to follow Florida landlord-tenant law: the required disclosures, security deposit provisions under Florida statute, a lead-based paint disclosure for pre-1978 properties, a radon disclosure, and move-in and move-out inspection procedures. Have an attorney review both templates.
Fair housing rules apply to your advertising, screening and leasing. The protected classes are race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status and disability. Know the reasonable accommodation requirements and document every decision and the criteria behind it. Violations bring significant fines and lawsuits.
Where do property management clients come from?
Your best early prospects are individual investors with 1-10 properties who are self-managing and overwhelmed, out-of-state owners who need someone local, and heirs who inherited a property they don’t want to manage. Builders with new rental communities are bigger fish once you have a track record. Community association (HOA) management requires separate licensing.
Real estate investor groups (REIAs), agents, CPAs and attorneys are your best referral sources. Public records show who owns rentals, so direct mail to out-of-state owners is a practical start. Add a website with your pricing, a Google Business Profile, and a referral reward for existing clients. Later, you can grow by adding maintenance or renovation project management, or by buying portfolios from retiring managers.
What do you have to keep up with every year?
- Real estate license renewal every two years, with 14 hours of continuing education for brokers and a renewal fee
- Florida LLC annual report by May 1 each year, $138.75
- Trust account records kept ready for a DBPR audit
- Quarterly estimated federal taxes, reemployment tax if you have employees, the annual federal return, and 1099 reporting to property owners
How much does it cost to start?
| Expense | Estimated cost |
|---|---|
| LLC formation | $125 |
| Sales associate license (total) | $500-$800 |
| Broker license (after 24 months) | $400-$700 |
| Brokerage registration | $100-$200 |
| General liability insurance | $1,000-$2,500 |
| E&O insurance | $1,500-$3,000 |
| Fidelity bond | $500-$1,500 |
| Property management software | $500-$2,000 (first year) |
| Website and marketing | $500-$2,000 |
| Office/home office setup | $500-$2,000 |
| Initial operating capital | $5,000-$10,000 |
| Total (existing broker) | $10,000-$25,000 |
Add $15,000-$25,000 if you need to wait and obtain your broker license.
Set up the company while you earn your broker hours
Forming the LLC while you earn your broker hours means the name, EIN and structure are ready to register with DBPR the day you qualify. IncCraft handles your LLC formation while you focus on getting licensed and building client relationships. We’ll file your Articles of Organization, get your EIN, and provide registered agent service.
Get started with your Florida property management LLC today.