Renting in Melbourne, FL

Melbourne renters pay a median gross rent of $1,525 a month across 14,548 occupied units paying rent, per the ACS 2020-2024 5-year table DP04 (ACS DP04, Melbourne city).

The Melbourne median sits a little under the county figure of $1,556 (ACS DP04, Brevard County). Melbourne is far more of a renters' city than Brevard as a whole: 40.3 percent of its occupied homes are rented, against 23.3 percent countywide. The Melbourne rental vacancy rate of 6.2 is also lower than the Brevard rate of 10.8, so a smaller share of the city's rental stock sits empty in the survey.

Two cautions apply to the Melbourne figures. They are five-year estimates averaged over 2020 to 2024, and they include every lease in place, many signed years ago, so the median is not what a landlord is asking for a vacant unit today. The survey also counts 368 Melbourne renter homes where no cash rent is paid. The Melbourne market trends guide follows how rents have moved year to year.

The two largest Melbourne rent bands are $1,500 to $1,999, with 37.8 percent of units paying rent, and $1,000 to $1,499, with 32.6 percent (ACS DP04 gross rent, Melbourne).

The $1,500 to $1,999 band is the single largest in Melbourne, holding 5,499 units. Rents at $2,500 and above are rare in the city survey, at 2.3 percent and 1.8 percent of units in the top two bands. At the other end, 700 Melbourne units rent for under $500 a month, 4.8 percent of the total. DP04 also gives an average renter household size of 2.16 people in Melbourne, beside a $306,400 median value for owner-occupied homes.

Almost half of Melbourne renters, 49.3 percent or 7,103 households, pay 35 percent or more of their household income in gross rent, according to ACS 2020-2024 table DP04 (ACS DP04 rent burden, Melbourne).

The Census Bureau measures this as gross rent as a percentage of household income, computed for 14,411 Melbourne units paying rent; another 505 could not be computed. At the low end, 1,191 Melbourne households, or 8.3 percent, pay less than 15 percent of income in rent, and 978, or 6.8 percent, fall in the 30.0 to 34.9 percent band. The 35 percent or more band is by far the largest of the Melbourne income bands in the table.

The Melbourne share is a little above the county. In Brevard County, 26,602 renter households, or 47.2 percent, pay 35 percent or more of income in rent (ACS DP04 rent burden, Brevard County). The Melbourne figure is part of that county total, and the DP04 table does not break the share down by neighborhood, so the burden in Eau Gallie or downtown is not visible in it.

Across six ZIP codes in and around Melbourne, HUD's FY2026 Small Area Fair Market Rents for a two-bedroom unit sit between $1,590 (32901) and $2,310 (32940) (HUD FY2026 Small Area FMRs, Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville).

These figures matter most to Melbourne renters with a Housing Choice Voucher. HUD states that all voucher programs operated in the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville metro use Small Area FMRs defined by ZIP code, which HUD says allows multiple payment standards within one metro area. HUD's stated aim is to give tenants a greater ability to move into opportunity neighborhoods with jobs, public transportation and good schools.

In the HUD schedule, ZIP 32901 has the lowest figure of the six at every bedroom size, and 32940 the highest. HUD also warns that ZIP code areas may cross city and county lines, so a ZIP in this table can include addresses outside the City of Melbourne. A fair market rent is a federal payment benchmark for a modest unit, not a quote from any Melbourne landlord.

The Census Bureau's 2025 Building Permits Survey shows no new units permitted in Melbourne buildings of five or more units, with 48 single-family units and 16 units in 3- and 4-unit buildings (Census BPS 2025 annual, South Region places).

The 2024 Melbourne row shows 59 single-family units and nothing in any multi-unit category (Census BPS 2024 annual, South Region places). Both years are reported for 12 months. By this measure, no Melbourne building of 5 or more units was permitted in either year. The rows cover Census place 43975, the City of Melbourne itself, not every address with a Melbourne mailing address in Brevard County.

The City of Melbourne does fund new affordable rentals. Up to $50,000 per unit is available through the city's Rental Development Program to buy, rehabilitate or build rentals that low- and very low-income households can afford (City of Melbourne housing programs). A for-profit developer has to put in a 100 percent match; a not-for-profit has no match to meet. The Melbourne housing assistance programs guide covers the city's homeowner programs.

The City of Melbourne's housing programs page lists its Tenant Based Rental Assistance Program as suspended until further notice (Melbourne Housing and Urban Improvement programs).

The Melbourne Housing and Urban Improvement Division remains the first call for housing questions, at 321-608-7530 or huid@mlbfl.org. For renters ready to buy, applications for the city's SHIP-funded Purchase Assistance Program became available on September 28, 2026. It requires a buyer to meet HUD income limits, complete homebuyer education and one-on-one counseling, and put in a good faith contribution of $1,000 for very low-income or $1,500 for low-income buyers, with preference for first-time buyers; the home must be inside Melbourne city limits. The city page directs program questions to Community Housing Initiative Inc. at 321-253-0053.

A rental on city water comes with a Melbourne utility account. Inside the city, residential deposits are $60 for water and $90 for sewer, and the monthly base charges of $12.02 for water and $16.68 for sewer come before usage at $6.87 and $9.65 per 1,000 gallons (City of Melbourne utility rate table). Water customers outside the city pay a $13.22 base rate.

Under section 83.49 of the Florida Statutes, the Florida law that applies to Melbourne rentals, a landlord who makes no claim must return the security deposit within 15 days after the rental agreement ends (Florida Statutes 83.49).

A landlord who intends to keep part of a Melbourne deposit must send written notice of the claim and its reason by certified mail to the tenant's last known mailing address, or by e-mail as section 83.505 allows, within 30 days after the rental agreement ends. The tenant then has 15 days after receiving that notice to object in writing; without an objection, the landlord may deduct the claim and must send the balance within 30 days after the date of the notice. A landlord who misses the 30-day notice forfeits the right to impose a claim on the deposit, though the statute still allows a separate lawsuit for damages.

The same Florida section covers a Melbourne deposit while the lease runs. The landlord must hold the money in a separate account in a Florida financial institution, either non-interest-bearing or interest-bearing, or post a surety bond, and must give the tenant written notice of how the deposit is held, in the lease or within 30 days after receiving it; that notice rule does not apply to a landlord who rents fewer than five dwelling units. The disclosure the statute requires in Florida leases tells the tenant to give the landlord a new address on moving out so that deposit notices can reach the tenant.

Last verified: October 21, 2026, against fresh pulls of DP04 for Melbourne city and Brevard County, the HUD FY2026 Small Area FMR schedule for the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville metro, the Census permit place files for 2024 and 2025, the city's housing programs and rate table pages, and section 83.49 of the Florida Statutes.