Amelia Island Renter's Guide

Amelia Island’s beautiful climate, wide range of outdoor activities, and proximity to the waterfront make it an in-demand place for people looking to buy a home in Northeast Florida—and each of these assets also attracts plenty of sunshine-loving renters. This is true for people who want to rent, long-term, as well as those who are looking to enjoy time spent in one Amelia Island vacation rentals.

To browse current condos, apartments, and homes for rent in Amelia Island, FL, please check out these links:

• Resort View Rentals
• Ocean View Rentals

If you’re interested in one of these properties, please contact us online or call 904-277-5980. We’re here to help!

Benefits of Amelia Island Rentals

Conde Nast Traveler readers named Amelia island as one of the Top 10 Islands in the world because they appreciate its culture and history, as well as the lovely beaches, maritime forests, pristine wetlands, and much more.

Miles of uncrowded beaches provide plenty of room for you to sunbathe and swim, or to just stroll along the sand to appreciate the waterfront’s natural beauty, with warm waves lapping at your feet. You can even ride horseback on the beach. Golfers can enjoy 36 holes of their favorite game along the ocean while hikers and bikers can take in stunning unspoiled conservation land.

Shopping, dining, sightseeing, sunset cruises, and climbs to the top of a lighthouse—all this and more is at your fingertips. When renting on Amelia Island, you’ll be near seven state parks and the Historic Downtown Fernandina Beach. Popular recurring events on the island include the Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival and the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance.

Plus, when renting on Amelia Island, you’ll only be three hours from Orlando’s theme parks and other attractions, and just a 45-minute drive from Jacksonville International Airport. Here are even more benefits of staying in Amelia Island rentals.

Knowing if Renting is Right For You

There are plenty of benefits to renting, including that it can be a test run to see if you’d like to live in a particular community. It’s a perfect way to experience a location without making a super-long time commitment up front. Conversely, if you know that you won’t be staying in a community for a long period of time, renting can also make good sense. You can find an attractive property that’s available for the time frame you need and then move out on your own timeline.

As a renter, you’re not responsible for paying for or DIY-ing property maintenance or repairs. Instead, you typically call the landlord or the property management company and they’ll take it from there. This gives you more time and money to enjoy the gorgeous weather of Northeast Florida and participate in the activities in and around Amelia Island.

Additional benefits of renting include:

• You don’t have to pay property taxes. This can free up even more of your monthly budget.
• You don’t have to make a down payment. The security deposit you’ll pay will almost certainly be much less than a down payment on a house. Take good care of the property and then you’ll get much of that deposit back when you move out.
• You don’t need to pay homeowner’s insurance or private mortgage insurance (PMI). Many landlords require renter’s insurance but, again, the cost will be much less than when you own a home. (If a landlord doesn’t require renter’s insurance, you’ll want to protect your belongings and have liability insurance, anyhow.)
• Utility costs may be less, because, many times, renters only pay some of the utility bills (although not all circumstances are the same).

There are, of course, downsides to renting to consider. These include that, when you make your monthly rent payments, you aren’t building equity in the property and there are no tax benefits. Plus, you may find that you love the home you’re renting, and you want to buy it—but the landlord isn’t interested in selling.

You can’t make changes to the property, at least not without the owner’s approval, and a non-renewal of the lease is possible if the landlord has different plans for the property going forward. And, if you have pets, you’ll need to make sure that the landlord’s policy allows for the types and number of them you have.

Selecting a Neighborhood

Choosing the right neighborhood when renting is similar in several ways to when you’re buying—because location really matters. So, it makes sense to explore the neighborhoods on Amelia Island to see which ones are the most appealing to you and best fit your wants and needs. In alphabetical order, these neighborhoods include:

• Amelia Park and Amelia Island Plantation
• Beach Walker, Beach Walker Villas, Beach Wood, Beach Wood Villas, Beachside Villas, and Brady Point Preserve
• Captain's Court Villas, Club Villas, and Courtside Villas
• Dunes Club Villas, Dune Court, and Dunes Row
• Fairway Oaks Villas, Fiddler's Bend Villas, and First Coast Highway
• Heron Oaks
• Lagoon Villas, Linkside Villas, Little Dunes, and Long Point
• Marsh Creek, Marsh View Villas, and Marsh Point
• North Hampson
• Oak Point, Ocean Club Villas, and Osprey Village
• Piper Dunes Villas
• Sandcastles Villas, Sea Dunes Villas, Sea Marsh, Seaside Retreat, Ship Watch Villas, Spyglass Villas, and Spyglass II Villas
• Tennis Villas, The Residence, The Sanctuary, and Turtle Dunes Villas
• Windsong Villas
• Yulee

Stop by neighborhoods of interest at different times of day—and on different days of the week. Walk around the area, rather than just driving through, because that will give you a better sense of what a neighborhood is really like, up close and personal. Consider talking to people on your walks to see what they think about a particular area on Amelia Island. Also do test runs to the places you’ll need to regularly go, from workplaces to schools, to see how convenient these trips would be.

After doing this type of exploration, which neighborhoods have the vibe you like the best?

Condos, Apartments, and Single Family Homes

First, we’ll compare apartment rentals in Amelia Island, Florida with condo rentals—and then apartment/condo options with Amelia Island house rentals.

In many ways, condos and apartments can be similar, with each of them having units for rent in a communal type of setting. An apartment building can be owned by a person, group of people, or business, and is often managed by a property management company. When renting an apartment, you would likely have someone from that management company serve as your contact to pay rent and when you need maintenance or repairs done. A condo unit is typically owned by an individual or couple and they would serve as your landlord (although they may hire someone to manage the rental processes for them).

Individual units in an apartment building often look very similar to one another, while a condo unit may have more personal touches added by the owner.

When renting an apartment, the lease will likely include a list of which utilities you’re responsible to pay. When renting a condo unit—such as one of the Amelia Island condos for rent—utility payments are covered by the homeowner’s association (HOA) fees paid by the owner. So is the upkeep of common areas and group amenities, such as a pool, clubhouse, and so forth—which can make it more likely that your condo landlord would charge a fixed rental amount and then pay utilities and HOA from what they’ve received.

Sometimes, an HOA will not allow a condo owner to sublet their unit. In those cases, if a condo unit is especially appealing to you, the only option may be to buy one.

Now, compare those situations to home rentals in Amelia Island, Florida. Usually, renting a home allows you to have more living space, including more bedrooms and bathrooms, and perhaps more levels. Plus, if you enjoy spending time in a backyard, renting a home will allow you to enjoy significantly more privacy and personal space. If you have dogs and the landlord permits them, a house can give them more room to move around and play.

When choosing among Amelia Island house rentals, think about how quietly or exuberantly you like to live. If you enjoy a peaceful environment, then choosing one with a larger backyard and a bit more space between houses can be beneficial. If, instead, you like to play your music or enjoy time with family and friends, then you can pick the neighborhood appropriately. Either way, when renting a home, it’s typically quieter than it would be if you shared a common wall with neighbors in a condo or apartment.

Rent and utilities payments would typically cost more than with a condo or apartment. Having said that, if owners haven't been able to sell their homes, they may decide to rent them instead of keeping them vacant. In those situations, this can be advantageous for the tenant.

Amelia Island Beach House Rentals

When thinking about renting on Amelia Island, some people have a very specific ambiance in mind. They want to rent alongside a beach—and, if that’s you, then we can’t say that we blame you! Beaches here are truly gorgeous, and the ability to already be beach-bound as soon as you walk out your door can lend itself to a wonderful lifestyle. Look here for some potential Amelia Island beach house rentals.

Rental Process and Budget

If you’ve decided that renting is right for you, then the next step is to look at available Amelia Island house rentals and condos/apartments for rent. Once one appeals to you and the price is right for your budget, initial steps typically include filling out an application and paying an application fee.

Be prepared to provide personal contact information; show a photo ID; list your employment information and income; describe what pets you have; and list emergency contact names and numbers and references. You may be asked for references, in general, or an application may require professional ones—or ones from previous landlords.

Application fees can vary, perhaps because of the location or landlord. Overall, they’re used to screen renters, covering costs of credit and background checks. Some fees may be refundable if you aren’t chosen to rent the property.

Landlords want to ensure that the renters they approve can meet financial obligations, and so they could ask for a co-signer if there is concern about the prospective tenants’ ability to make the rent payments by themselves. As a general rule of thumb, rent payments should typically be about 30% or less of the applicants’ income.

Once an application is approved for one of the rentals in Amelia Island, Florida, you can then review your lease paperwork.

Reviewing the Lease Before Signing

Items to look for in a lease include:

• The amount of monthly rent being charged
• The amount of the security deposit
• The date the rent is due each month
• The length of the lease
• Start and end dates of the lease
• The address, including the apartment number, if relevant
• What utilities you’re required to pay
• Any requirements surrounding renter’s insurance, including but not limited to what you need to provide to the landlord as proof
• What the pet policies are, if relevant
• Whether you can have additional people move in or sublet
• What the procedure is if you want to renovate the property

Other key questions focus on renewals of the lease and what you’d need to do if you needed to break the lease.

First, check the lease to see if you have an option to renew. If so, is this good for one year? Three? Also look for an escalation clause, which would describe how much your landlord could raise the monthly rent in each subsequent year. The escalation clause could list this increase as a certain dollar amount or as a percentage. Sometimes, rent increases could be based upon increases in the cost of living.

It’s important to be clear about what you need to do to renew. You might, as just one possibility, need to inform your landlord in writing, 60 days in advance.

Leaving a Property Early

Sometimes, despite your best intentions to remain living in a rental property for the time stated in the lease, you may need to leave. If your plan is to continue to pay rent on the property for the stated amount of time, there probably won’t be much discussion needed between you and your landlord. Or, if your landlord already has a qualified renter who wants to move into the property, the process may go smoothly.

Sometimes, though, you need to move out of a property and there isn’t a clear pathway towards this being beneficial for you and your landlord alike. What happens next depends on state law, and NOLO provides insights into breaking a lease in Florida.

In general, tenants must pay rent for the period of months specified in the lease, even if not living in the property. That said, there are exceptions where you may be able to break a lease and not owe the rest of the rent:

• You’ll be entering active military duty. If you join any of the qualifying “uniformed services” after signing the lease, you can give your landlord written notice of the need to “terminate your tenancy for military reasons.” After that notice has been delivered to the landlord, your tenancy will end 30 days after the due date of the next rent payment.
• The property is unsafe and/or violates health or safety codes of the state. Under these circumstances, a court may well decide that you’ve been “constructively evicted” because the housing is not in livable condition. If this appears to be applicable, there are legal steps you must take for the lease to be terminated ahead of time.
• Your privacy rights are being violated by your landlord or you’re otherwise being harassed by him or her. This could include situations where the landlord turns off your utilities or changes the locks without notice. If this occurs, you could take legal measures to break the lease, ones that can be successful.

Unlike in some other states, in Florida, your landlord is not required to seek out a replacement tenant.

Rentals in Amelia Island, Florida

From Amelia Island vacation rentals to a longer-term stay, when you sign a lease, you’ll be living in a lovely environment with gorgeous weather and plenty of amenities. If you like to be super active, or if you enjoy spending time at home, there are rental opportunities that will be just right for you.

Contact Us to Discuss Amelia Island Rentals

If you’ve found a house, condo, or apartment on our website that you’re interested in renting, we’re thrilled to hear that! Please contact us online or call us at 904-277-5980 to view the property and talk about specifics. Or, if you’d like to talk about Amelia Island rentals in general, contact us! We love the Northern Florida lifestyle and are always excited to share the reasons why Amelia Island is such a wonderful place to live.