Exhibit 31.1

CERTIFICATION

I, Thomas J. Putman, certify that:

1.      I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form
10-Q of NationsRent Companies, Inc.;

2.      Based on my knowledge, this report does not
contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which
such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by
this quarterly report;

3.      Based on my knowledge, the financial
statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly
present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations
and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this
report;

4.      The registrant's other certifying officer(s)
and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and
procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the
registrant and have:

| | (a) | Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure
controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that
material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated
subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly
during the period in which this report is being prepared;
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| | (b) | [Intentionally Omitted];
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| | (c) | Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and
procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness
of the disclosure controls and procedures based as of the end of the period
covered by this report based on such evaluation; and
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| | (d) | Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over
financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's most recent fiscal
quarter (the registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report)
that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the
registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and
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5.      The registrant's other certifying officers and
I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation, to the registrant's
auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (or
persons performing the equivalent functions):

| | (a) | All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation
of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to
adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and
report financial information; and
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| | (b) | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees
who have a significant role in the registrant's internal control over financial
reporting.
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Date: March 30, 2005

| | /s/ Thomas J. Putman
      Thomas J. Putman
      President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
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