The master association's closing paperwork in Pelican Landing doesn't say how often you can rent the home you're buying. The 2026 estoppel certificate from the Pelican Landing Community Association lists the $3,478 annual assessment, the $6,000 resale capital contribution and the $299 estoppel fee. Then it tells buyers it is "incumbent upon you to inquire" whether a neighborhood or condominium association has its own fees, assessments or approval requirements, adding that "in some instances there are more than one."
For an investor or seasonal owner, that line matters more than anything else on the form. Rental rules in Pelican Landing come in layers, and the tightest layer controls. As a result, a property's rental income is set less by demand than by which neighborhood's documents sit on top of the master rules. PLCA's current directory, updated September 29, 2026, lists 31 Phase I neighborhoods and 19 more in The Colony, from Ascot and Bay Creek to Navona, Merano and Villa Trevi.
The master rule sets a ceiling and lets neighborhoods lower it
PLCA's tenant information sheet sets two baselines. Homes in a community with no neighborhood association may be leased "one (1) time per year, with a minimum lease period of thirty (30) days." Homes in parcel neighborhoods that do have an association may be leased "four (4) times per year, with a minimum lease period of thirty (30) days, unless the neighborhood documents state differently, whichever is less."
The phrase "whichever is less" does the work. Four leases a year is the most any home gets, and a neighborhood can only lower that number. The published documents show how far apart the neighborhoods are:
| Layer | Leases allowed per year | Minimum term | Source document |
|---|---|---|---|
| PLCA, homes with no neighborhood association | 1 | 30 days | PLCA tenant information sheet |
| PLCA, parcel neighborhoods with an association | Up to 4, or fewer if neighborhood documents say so | 30 days | PLCA tenant information sheet |
| Palm Colony | 3 | 30 days or 1 calendar month, whichever is greater | Palm Colony leasing page |
| Navona at The Colony | 2 per calendar year | 90 consecutive days | Navona rules adopted July 26, 2019 |
| The Colony Bay Club membership transfer to a tenant | 3 transfers per calendar year | Not stated | Bay Club transfer form, 2020 |
Palm Colony also says only furnished units may be leased, no pets are allowed in leased units, and the whole unit must be rented, never part of it. Navona's adopted rules allow a lease only to a natural person, not a corporation, and they bar subleasing. The Navona and Bay Club figures come from the most recent documents those associations have published, dated 2019 and 2020. Before relying on them, confirm with the association.
In practice, a Navona owner has two windows a year, each at least 90 days long. A Palm Colony owner can split the year into three furnished leases of a month or more. An owner in a neighborhood with no association gets one lease a year. Each of those is a different rental product, and all of them sit behind the same front gate.
The owner's amenity access goes with the lease
There's a second cost that doesn't show up in a rent projection. PLCA's tenant application says its board adopted the Dual Use Rights Policy, 100.14, under which "all owner ID cards & barcodes will be turned off during the duration of the lease." Only one tenant, their spouse or partner, and dependent children receive PLCA photo IDs, and that ID is what grants amenity access. Those amenities include the 34-acre Pelican Landing Beach Park on Big Hickory Island, reached by shuttle boat across Estero Bay.
The Colony adds its own version. Its Temporary Transfer Agreement moves a Bay Club membership to the lessee for a $200 administrative fee. Under that form, the resident gives up membership privileges for the length of the transfer, and no more than three transfers are allowed in a calendar year. Navona's rules go further. An owner whose unit is leased "may not use the common elements/areas, amenities or parking facilities during the lease term," except as another owner's guest, and the owner still owes every assessment.
This matters most for a second-home buyer planning to use the property part of the year and rent it the rest. In these neighborhoods, every leased month is a month with no access to the beach park, the shuttle and the club. In Navona, the minimum term makes each of those blocks at least 90 days.
Countywide demand is rising, but most of it isn't open to a 30-day lease
Lee County's tourism numbers look strong. The Visitor & Convention Bureau reported that for April through June 2026, the condo, cottage and vacation-home category averaged 37.9% occupancy at a $302.67 average daily rate, up from 33.0% and $275.04 in the same quarter of 2025. Preliminary tourist tax collections for June 2026 came to $3,813,291, up 20.7% year over year.
Those are nightly-rate figures for the whole county. Every Pelican Landing layer in the table above starts at a 30-day minimum, so the weekend and one-week stays behind much of that demand can't be booked into these homes. What a Pelican Landing owner can actually offer is the monthly or seasonal tenant. For that tenant, the number of leases allowed per year works as a revenue ceiling, whatever the countywide occupancy trend.
Seasonal leases still carry transient-rental taxes. The Lee County Clerk lists a 5% tourist development tax on rentals of six months or less, plus 6.5% sales tax, for 11.5% combined. A 30-day Palm Colony lease and a 90-day Navona lease both fall inside that six-month window. Navona's rules state that paying taxes on lease income, including Florida sales tax and the Lee County accommodation tax, is the owner's responsibility. For your own situation, talk to a tax professional.
The long-term rental market won't take up much slack in an unfurnished year either. The News-Press reported in July 2026 that advertised apartment rents fell 3.5% year over year in Fort Myers and 3.0% in Naples, based on June data, in a regional multifamily market it described as oversupplied. Apartments are a different product, but they compete for the same annual tenant.
The rules depend on when you bought, too
Florida law adds a timing layer that can catch buyers off guard during a resale. For condominiums, Section 718.110(13) says an amendment that prohibits rentals, changes the rental term or limits how many times owners may rent "applies only to unit owners who consent to the amendment and unit owners who acquire title to their units after the effective date of that amendment."
So a condo seller may hold rental rights from before a later amendment, and those rights may not pass to the buyer. Two identical units in the same building can carry different rental rights depending on when each owner took title. Confirm with the association and your attorney which version of the rules will apply to you.
Homeowners' associations work differently. Under Section 720.306, a new rental restriction generally binds only owners who consent or who acquire title later. The statute carves out amendments that regulate or prohibit rental terms shorter than six months, and amendments that bar renting more than three times in a calendar year. Those can apply to every owner. In Pelican Landing's single-family and villa neighborhoods governed as HOAs, rental rules can tighten for everyone, current owners included. That's information to raise with counsel. It isn't legal advice.
The paperwork runs on several clocks
Even inside the caps, each lease has to clear more than one office, and each office keeps its own deadline. For a Palm Colony unit, the stack looks like this:
- According to Palm Colony's community documents, notify Alliant Property Management in writing at least 15 days before the lease starts and submit Palm Colony's Notice of Lease Application with a $25 fee to Palm Colony.
- Pay Alliant's processing fee. The leasing page lists $75, and the owner guidelines revised January 11, 2025, list $125, so confirm the current amount with Alliant.
- Submit PLCA's tenant application at least two weeks before the start date, with the $100 nonrefundable fee, the fully executed lease and the neighborhood's approval.
In The Colony, the deadline moves up. The Colony's Tenant Access Authorization requires a $100 processing fee, an executed lease and neighborhood management approval four weeks before the rental begins. Navona's rules ask for the lease application at least 20 days ahead, require board approval, and deactivate the unit's existing fob when the lease starts.
For a tenant who books late in the season, those lead times can take a lease off the table. Since there are only so many leases a year, losing one means losing a share of that year's rental income.
What to verify before the contract goes firm
The PLCA estoppel confirms the master charges, including the $6,000 resale capital contribution for closings on or after January 1, 2026, up from $5,000 in 2025. Its $299 fee equals the standard maximum on the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation's current estoppel fee schedule. The form also states that PLCA requires no board approval for a transfer and has no right of first refusal. It says nothing about leasing.
For a buyer who plans to rent, the questions to put to each association layer during due diligence are:
- How many leases per year does the neighborhood or condo association allow, and what is the minimum term?
- Has any rental amendment been adopted, and as a buyer, would you be bound by it when the seller is not?
- Are leased units required to be furnished, and are pets allowed in them?
- Which club or foundation memberships transfer to a tenant, at what fee, and how many times a year?
- How much lead time does each office need before a lease starts?
Frequently asked questions
Does PLCA approve buyers? No. The 2026 PLCA estoppel says no board approval is required for a transfer and that there's no right of first refusal. A neighborhood or condominium association may have its own requirements.
Is golf membership part of the rental equation? The Colony Golf and Country Club is a separate private membership, and The Colony Foundation describes all Colony amenities, including the Bay Club, as resident-only.
Can a tenant use the Pelican Landing Beach Park? Registered tenants receive PLCA ID cards, and that ID grants amenity access. Under Policy 100.14, the owner's cards are turned off for the length of the lease.
If rental income is part of why you're looking at Pelican Landing, Casey Lyons can pull the leasing rules for each neighborhood on your list before you make an offer, so you can see the lease cap, minimum term and approval timeline next to the price. Schedule a free consultation to compare them.
