Renting in Bermuda: up to five years without a licence, and what your lease means for everything else
As a foreigner you can simply rent a home in Bermuda. You need no licence as long as the lease runs for at most five years, with no option to go beyond that. Stamp duty applies to the lease, and with a lease of three years or more you also pay land tax. With your lease you open a bank account and register your child for school.
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Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
As a Dutch national you can simply rent a home in Bermuda. You need no licence for it, as long as the lease runs for at most five years and contains no option to go beyond that. Buying is different: there you do need a licence as a foreigner, and it is expensive. For almost everyone who comes on a work permit or on their own income, renting is therefore the logical start.
Why do you not need a licence to rent?
Bermuda protects its land against foreign buyers. The immigration law, the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act (BIPA), calls everyone without Bermudian status a restricted person. A Dutch national with a work permit is one too. A restricted person may not hold "land" without a licence, and that covers any right to land or a building (sections 72 and 76).
Renting is an exception. A bona fide tenant who leases for a term of no more than five years needs no licence (section 82(1)(b)). A lease with an option to extend beyond five years does not fall under that exception.
You sometimes read that foreigners may only rent homes above a certain rental value. We did not find that rule in the current law: the thresholds in the law apply to buying. If you are in doubt about a home, ask the landlord or their lawyer.
What does a lease cost on top of the rent?
| Cost | What applies | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Stamp duty on the lease | 1.05% of the rent for the first three years, and 0.5% of the rent after that | gov.bm, stamp duty |
| Land tax | only for tenants with a lease of three years or more; based on the annual rental value of the home | gov.bm, land tax |
| Licence | not needed up to five years | BIPA section 82 |
Stamp duty is a tax on legal documents, such as a lease or a deed of sale. Who pays it in practice, tenant or landlord, is not on the government page. Agree on it before you sign.
Land tax is Bermuda's property tax. It is charged twice a year, in March and September. It works with the annual rental value (ARV): the yearly rental value the government assigns to every home. The rate is a fixed $150 plus 0.80% on the first part of the ARV, rising to 55% on the part above $120,000. Owners always pay it. A tenant only pays if the lease runs for three years or more. If you choose a lease of three years or more, ask who pays the land tax.
We found the level of the rent itself in no official source. So compare a few homes before you sign.
What do you use your lease for?
In Bermuda, your lease is your most important proof of address. There is no population register like the Dutch BRP, so you show that lease again and again.
- The bank. HSBC Bermuda asks for proof of address, such as a lease or utility bill. Clarien accepts a letter from your employer as long as you do not yet have a lease.
- The school. For public school, the Ministry of Education asks for proof of address in the parent's name, such as a lease or a bill from BELCO, the electricity company. A mobile phone bill does not count.
- The car. In Bermuda only one private car may be registered per dwelling. In a rented home, the tenant with exclusive use is the one who may register it.
That last point is worth watching while you search. If you share a house, or a car is already registered at your address, you cannot register a car yourself. What that means in practice, you can read in car and driving licence in Bermuda.
What should you look out for while searching?
Bermuda is small, but with one car per dwelling and a speed limit of 35 km/h, distance still matters. So look at the travel time to work and to school, and whether you can do it by bus, ferry or scooter.
The hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November, according to the Bermuda Weather Service. Ask the landlord about the shutters, the roof and what is arranged in a storm.
Are you coming as a visitor first to look around? Then you may stay for at most six months in any twelve, and you may not look for work. Rent something short-term for that first period, and only sign a lease of a year or more once your residence is arranged. How that works, you can read in residence routes for Bermuda.
How long can you keep renting?
For as long as your residence lasts. Every lease of at most five years falls under the exception. Whether a series of leases in a row still counts as bona fide renting, the law does not say. Ask if you want to go beyond five years. Do you want certainty for longer, or do you want to buy? Then read buying a home in Bermuda. You open an account for the deposit and the rent as described in banking and payments in Bermuda.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.6: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Bermuda or go straight to step 5.6 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956, sections 72, 76 and 82 — who is a 'restricted person', and renting for up to five years without a licence — bermudalaws.bm
- Government of Bermuda — stamp duty on legal documents, with the rate for a lease — gov.bm
- Government of Bermuda — land tax, with the rates by rental value and who pays — gov.bm
- Motor Car Act 1951, section 16 — one private car per dwelling, also for tenants — bermudalaws.bm
- Bermuda Weather Service — the hurricane season from 1 June to 30 November — weather.bm
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