Florida Homeowners Could Vote To Shut Down Their HOAs

Homeowners associations have long been a lightning rod in American housing: beloved by developers for preserving property values, loathed by many residents for their strict rules and high fees. Yes, they maintain shared spaces, but they’ve also been known to crack down on holiday decorations, fine residents over the wrong hue of paint, and drive up monthly costs with little transparency.

That’s why my 11th grade English teacher liked to say that HOAs embodied the worst of (small) big government: They promised to serve you, then sent you a violation letter and a bill instead. It’s a sentiment that has grown louder, especially in places like Florida, where complaints over dues hikes and financial mismanagement have become more common.

Now, a new bill introduced by state Rep. Juan Porras could give Floridians the power to vote down their HOAs altogether. The proposed law would allow homeowners to dissolve their association by majority vote, in a potentially transformative shift for a state with the second-highest number of HOAs in the country, according to the Foundation for Community Association Research.

But the bill comes at a sensitive time for Florida homeowners, and raises a bigger, thornier question: What happens to home values if an HOA disappears?

HOA-run homes typically sell for 5% to 6% more than comparable properties without one, according to a widely cited study from George Mason University. And in Florida’s cooling market, where prices are already projected to drop nearly 2% in 2026, the impact of losing that HOA premium could far outweigh any savings to homeowners.

So, would killing the HOA make homeownership more affordable—or less valuable?

From 'abolish HOAs' to a court-supervised exit ramp

The push to give homeowners the power to dissolve their HOA began as a provocative talking point last summer, when Porras called them a “failed experiment,” and argued these associations had strayed from their original role as neighborhood caretakers and instead become overreaching authorities.

While Florida law already technically allows HOAs to be dissolved, the process is so complex and opaque that it’s rarely, if ever, successful. Porras’ bill—HB 657—seeks to change that, offering a clear, court-supervised path for homeowners to shut down their association as early as July 1, 2026.

Here’s how it would work: If just 20% of HOA members sign a petition, the board would be required to hold a communitywide vote. To move forward, two-thirds of all homeowners—including those behind on dues or otherwise “suspended”—would need to approve the plan. 

If that threshold is met, the proposal would be reviewed by a newly created Community Association Court Program, which would confirm the legal requirements are met before finalizing the dissolution.

To prevent interference, the bill prohibits HOA boards from using association funds to campaign against termination, and imposes fines on those who do as a method of enforcement.

The hard part: Who pays for roads, gates, ponds, pools, and insurance after the HOA is gone?

Dissolving your HOA might feel like a win until the community pool turns green and no one wants to foot the bill to fix the leaky clubhouse roof. These are the very problems HOAs were originally created to manage: by pooling resources, they’re supposed to help maintain shared assets, pay for insurance, and keep things running smoothly behind the scenes.

While those responsibilities don’t always make headlines the way HOA enforcement stories do—like Irena Green, a homeowner in Hillsborough County, FL, who spent a week in jail after failing to bring her lawn up to code—they still matter to everyday life in a neighborhood.

That’s why Senada Adzem, a top agent with Douglas Elliman in the Delray/Boca Raton, FL, market, cautions against viewing HOA dissolution as a simple cost-saving move.

“It changes how a community functions,” she says. “Costs do not disappear, they simply shift, and responsibilities become more individual.”

The bill requires that any plan to terminate an HOA must spell out how common areas and shared assets will be managed or transferred, and that plan must be approved by both homeowners and a court. Until final distribution, the existing board would continue handling repairs, asset sales, and basic upkeep.

But coordinating all of that is no small task, and Adzem sees that as a potential deal breaker in many communities.

“While some homeowners value the freedom, others may struggle with uneven standards and shared decision making without a formal structure,” she says. “Before voting, homeowners should carefully consider how the change could impact their property value, their relationships with neighbors, and how attractive the community will be to future buyers.”

Will it make homes more affordable? Or just less valuable?

Real estate pricing is brutally literal about maintenance. Buyers pay for confidence: that the pool will stay blue and the pickleball courts will be usable. When shared amenities start to look neglected, the discount shows up fast—not because buyers love rules, but because they fear uncertainty and future costs.

Nationally, fixer-uppers list for nearly 55% less than move-in ready homes. And while eliminating an HOA doesn’t instantly turn a house or neighborhood into a fixer-upper, the stat does underline the discount that homes below market standard command.

That’s the less-discussed role HOAs play. Beyond enforcement, they’re the entity that collects money, hires vendors, carries insurance, and makes decisions when something breaks. If an HOA disappears, the bills just get reassigned, either to individual homeowners, a new structure, or deferred until the problem becomes unavoidable.

“One of the biggest challenges is that many homeowners do not realize how much the HOA handles behind the scenes,” says Adzem. “Without a clear replacement structure, buyers worry about inconsistent maintenance, disputes between neighbors, and unexpected costs. Those concerns often matter more to buyers than the HOA itself because they directly affect daily life and future resale value.”

That dynamic matters in Florida more than almost anywhere because of sheer scale. The state has more than 50,000 HOAs, with thousands more forming alongside new development, elevating this bill from a niche governance fight to a statewide housing infrastructure and property value question.

And it may not just be a Florida story. HOAs are now embedded in the U.S. housing market: More than 40% of listings included an HOA fee in 2024, and roughly 374,000 community associations govern neighborhoods nationwide, according to a report from Realtor.com®. If Florida creates a workable, court-supervised off-ramp, it could become a model for other fast-growth states where private roads, gates, ponds, and amenities are increasingly standard.

What to watch next

The bill is still in its early stages, and its path forward is far from guaranteed. So far, no committee hearings have been scheduled, and lawmakers may propose amendments that reshape everything from how HOAs are dissolved to how disputes are handled in the newly proposed court system.

One of the biggest hurdles is that there’s currently no companion bill in the Florida Senate. Without one, even a successful House vote may not be enough to carry the proposal through this year’s legislative session.