Owner Guide · By Paul Raczynski, Florida Broker · Reviewed November 2026

Renting Out Your Home: The First-Timer's Guide

Maybe the offers came in below your number. Maybe a new job moved you before the house sold, or you inherited a home you are not ready to let go. Renting it out can be a smart way to wait, and sometimes it is not. This guide walks a first time landlord through the whole job in order: pricing the rent, getting the home ready, what changes with your mortgage, insurance, and taxes, and an honest test of whether renting is right for you.

Start with two numbers, not a decision

Most accidental landlords decide first and do the math later. Flip that. Before you choose anything, you need two numbers side by side: what the home would realistically rent for, and what it costs you every month to keep it. That second number is your mortgage payment, property taxes, insurance, HOA dues, and money set aside for repairs and the weeks between tenants.

If rent clearly beats cost, keep reading. If it does not, renting means paying each month to own a home someone else lives in, and selling may be the better answer. Our accidental landlord page lays out all three paths (sell, rent it yourself, or rent it with help) at a glance. This guide goes step by step through the renting path.

Step 1

Price the rent from the market, not your mortgage

Renters do not know or care what your payment is. They compare your home with every other home they can rent this week. Here is the market you are pricing into, from our sourced Orlando rental market report.

Typical rent, metro

$1,959 a month for the Orlando metro (Zillow Observed Rent Index, July 2026). This index covers the whole rental stock, houses included.

Median rent, metro

$1,519 a month, down 2.1% from a year earlier (Apartment List, August 2026). Inside the City of Orlando, the 2 bedroom median was $1,615.

Competition from new buildings

Multifamily vacancy was 5.2% (Colliers, Q2 2026), and about 9,100 new apartments are scheduled to open in 2026 (Northmarq, Q1 2026).

Two lessons from those numbers. First, sources disagree because they measure different things: Zillow’s index includes houses, while apartment reports follow big buildings, so a single family home rarely matches an apartment headline. Second, rents have been roughly flat, which means overpricing costs more than it used to. Every week the home sits empty is a week of costs with no rent behind it.

Good pricing comes from comparables: homes near yours with similar bedrooms, baths, size, and condition that recently leased, not just listings still asking. Medians describe the market. Comparables price your home. Online estimates are a starting point, not a price.

The fastest way to get the real number is a free rental analysis. A licensed Florida broker prices your home from live Orlando comparables, with no obligation, so you can run the rent against your costs before deciding anything.

Step 2

Turn your home into a rental

A home you lived in and a home ready to rent are not the same thing. These are the changes first timers most often miss.

Empty it completely

Renters picture their own life in a home, not yours. Every personal item, piece of furniture, and box in the garage has to go before photos.

Fix what you learned to live with

The sticky door, the dripping faucet, the outlet that never worked. You stopped noticing. A renter and their move in report will not.

Safety first

Working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, doors and locks that work, and windows that open, close, and lock. Our checklist lists exactly what we require.

Clean like a hotel

A professional clean, fresh caulk in wet areas, clean carpet, and paint touched up or redone wall to wall. Clean homes photograph better and attract better applicants.

Service the systems

A serviced air conditioner with a new filter, working appliances, and a lawn that is cut and edged. In Florida, the air conditioner is the call you least want in August.

Record the condition

Before a tenant moves in, document every room on video. That record is what supports a fair deposit claim when the lease ends.

Every item we require before we advertise a home is on our rent ready checklist. Not local anymore? We can coordinate the work through our vendor network.

Step 3

Three calls to make before you sign a lease

When a home becomes a rental, the paperwork around it changes too. This is general information, not legal, tax, or lending advice. The people below are the ones who can answer for your situation.

Call your lender

Many owner occupied loans include a promise to live in the home for a period after closing. Read the occupancy section of your mortgage, then call your lender and ask plainly: can I rent this home, and does anything change if I do?

Ask about your escrow too. If your taxes and insurance go up, your monthly payment usually follows.

Call your insurer

A homeowners policy is generally written for a home you live in. A rental usually needs a landlord or dwelling policy instead. Tell your insurer the home will be rented before the tenant moves in.

Ask about liability coverage, loss of rent after a covered claim, flood coverage, and anything you plan to leave in the home.

Call your property appraiser

Florida’s homestead exemption is for your permanent residence. Under section 196.061 of the Florida Statutes, renting out all or substantially all of the home counts as abandoning the homestead, with a narrow exception for very short rentals.

Tell your county property appraiser when you move out. In Orange County, that is the Orange County Property Appraiser.

Step 4

Know how renting changes your taxes

This is where accidental landlords get surprised most often. None of it is a reason not to rent. All of it is a reason to talk with a CPA before you do.

Property taxes can rise

While a home is your homestead, the Florida Constitution caps yearly assessment increases at 3% or the inflation rate, whichever is lower (Article VII, section 4). When the homestead ends, that cap ends too. A non homestead home has a 10% yearly cap instead, and its assessment can reset toward market value.

Rent is taxable income

Rental income and expenses are reported on Schedule E. You can generally deduct expenses like repairs, insurance, and management fees, and depreciate the building over 27.5 years (IRS Publication 527). Keep every receipt from day one.

The home sale clock

You can exclude up to $250,000 of gain on a home sale ($500,000 for most married couples filing jointly) if you owned it and lived in it as your main home for at least 2 of the 5 years before the sale (IRS Publication 523). Renting does not end that right on day one, but the window keeps moving.

What the 2 of 5 rule means in practice: if you lived in the home for at least two years right before you moved out, you generally have up to three years after moving out to sell and still qualify. Wait longer, and the exclusion can be lost. That timing is worth knowing before you sign a long lease.

One more catch from IRS Publication 523: gain equal to depreciation claimed after May 6, 1997 cannot be excluded, even when the rest of the gain qualifies. Inherited homes follow different rules again. A CPA can map all of this to your dates and your numbers in one meeting, which is far cheaper than finding out at tax time.

Step 5

Find the right tenant and follow Florida’s rules

Once the home is priced and ready, the job becomes finding the right person and doing it by the book. Screen every applicant against the same written criteria for income, credit, rental history, and background. Fair housing law makes inconsistent screening a legal risk, not just a bad tenant risk.

Florida residential leases are governed by Chapter 83 of the Florida Statutes, and the deposit rules are strict. Under section 83.49, you return the deposit within 15 days after the tenant leaves, or send a written notice of your claim by certified mail within 30 days. Miss that notice and you can lose the right to claim any of it. If your home is in an HOA, read the association documents too. Some associations limit rentals or require approval of a new tenant.

Then comes the part that never ends: rent collection, repairs, inspections, and renewals. Whether that is a fit for you is the subject of our guide to hiring a property manager or self managing. For the worst case, see the Florida eviction process.

Honest fit

Is renting right for you?

We manage rentals, and we will still tell you when renting is the wrong call. If most of the right column describes you, selling is probably the better path.

Renting tends to fit if

The realistic rent covers your mortgage, taxes, insurance, and HOA, with room left for repairs
You have a real reason to keep the home: moving back, a long horizon, or a family tie
Your mortgage and insurer allow the change, and you have checked both
You have cash set aside for a repair or a slow month
You understand how renting changes your tax picture and have talked with a CPA
You are comfortable with someone else living in the home, cared for but not the way you would

Selling tends to fit if

The rent would not cover your costs, and you would be feeding the home every month
You need the equity now for a new home, a business, or peace of mind
The home needs major work you cannot fund before a tenant moves in
The tax clock on your home sale exclusion matters a lot in your situation
You know being a landlord, even with help, is not something you want in your life
You are only renting to wait for a better price, with no plan if prices stay flat

A word on renting just to wait out the market. It can work, but go in with a plan for what happens if prices do not move. Ask yourself how long you are willing to hold, what you will do when the first lease ends, and whether the rent still works if a repair or a vacant month comes along. If the honest answer is that you are hoping, not planning, selling now may serve you better.

Decided to sell? You do not have to take a lowball offer to sell fast. See how we buy houses directly from owners, often with seller financing.

If you rent, you do not have to do it alone

Paul and his team can carry as much of this as you want. Choose the level of help that fits. On Lease Only, at 0% monthly, we price and market the home, screen applicants, and place the tenant with an attorney prepared lease, then hand you the keys. On 24 Managed, at 8% of rent we collect, or 24 Protected, at 9%, we run the rental day to day: rent, repairs, inspections, and statements.

Our management agreement is month to month, so you are never locked in if you decide to sell later. Every fee is on our pricing page. Moved away from Orlando? See how we work with out of state landlords.

First time landlord questions, answered

How do I rent out my house in Orlando for the first time?

Work in this order. First, get a realistic rent number from live comparables and compare it with your monthly costs. Second, call your lender and your insurance company before you sign anything. Third, get the home rent ready. Fourth, market it, screen every applicant against written criteria, and sign a Florida lease. Then decide who runs it day to day: you, or a licensed manager. Our free rental analysis covers the first step.

Is it better to rent out or sell my house in Orlando?

It depends on your numbers and your next few years, not on the market headline. Renting tends to work when the rent covers your costs and you have a reason to keep the home. Selling tends to work when the rent falls short, you need the equity, or you would rather not be a landlord. Rents in the Orlando metro were roughly flat over the past year: Zillow measured a 0.6% rise (July 2026) and Apartment List a 2.1% drop (August 2026). Price your specific home, then decide.

Do I have to tell my mortgage lender I am renting out my house?

Read the occupancy section of your mortgage and call your lender before you rent. Many owner occupied loans include a promise to live in the home for a period after closing, and terms vary by loan. Your escrow payment may also change once your property taxes and insurance change. Your lender is the only one who can tell you what your loan allows.

Does my homeowners insurance cover a rental?

Do not assume it does. Homeowners policies are generally written for a home you live in. A rental usually needs a landlord or dwelling policy, which is built around a home someone else lives in. Call your insurer, say the home will be rented, and ask what changes for liability, loss of rent, and the contents you leave behind.

What happens to my Florida homestead exemption if I rent out my home?

Under section 196.061 of the Florida Statutes, renting all or substantially all of a homestead dwelling counts as abandoning the homestead, with a narrow exception for very short rentals. Losing the exemption also ends the Save Our Homes cap on assessment increases. Tell your county property appraiser when the home stops being your residence. Claiming an exemption you no longer qualify for can bring back taxes, penalties, and interest under section 196.161.

If I rent my home, will I owe capital gains tax when I sell?

Possibly. IRS Publication 523 lets you exclude up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000 for most married couples filing jointly) if you owned and lived in the home as your main home for at least 2 of the 5 years before the sale. Renting for a while does not end that right, but the 5 year window keeps moving. Depreciation you claim while it is a rental generally cannot be excluded. Talk with a CPA before you rent and again before you sell.

Can I rent my house now and sell it later?

Yes. Many accidental landlords rent while they wait for the right time. Two things to plan for: a tenant’s lease runs its full term, so match the lease length to your sale timeline, and the tax clock above keeps running. Our management agreement is month to month, so ending management when you sell is simple.

Do I need a property manager to rent out my home?

No. Florida lets owners rent and manage their own property. If you hire someone, they must hold a Florida real estate license. If you want help only with pricing, marketing, screening, and the lease, our Lease Only plan is 0% monthly. For hands off management, 24 Managed is 8% and 24 Protected is 9% of rent we collect.

Start with the rent number. Then decide.

Find out what your home would rent for from a licensed Florida broker, free and with no obligation. Or call (407) 588-9600 and talk it through with Paul and his team.

Get Your FREE Rental Analysis