December 11, 2025 | Mark Luis Foster

I do seem to pick on Florida a lot in this blog. After all, some of the best and most entertaining news seems to come from the Sunshine State (e.g. “Florida Man Fights Alligator With Smart Phone”). But we have been watching a movement by some legislators in Florida to dissolve HOAs and “return the power to the people,” a basic reversal of HOA structures and governance across the state. Now a bill has been introduced in the state’s legislature.

From News4 Jacksonville:

House Bill 657, filed last week, would establish the “Homeowners’ Association Dissolution and Accountability Act.” If passed, it would create a legal roadmap for residents to completely shut down their HOA.

Well this brings up a whole lot of questions in my mind. There are plenty of opinions about HOA living from HOA residents and non-residents alike, but I think there’s major benefits for homeowners who care about property values, consistent amenities, property rules, and bulk billing benefits. Dissolution seems counter intuitive to all those things.

So how will this work exactly?

Under HB 657, the dissolution process would begin when 20% of homeowners sign a petition. That would trigger a mandatory vote. To abolish the HOA, two-thirds of all voting members must approve.

Yikes. It only takes 20% of homeowners to get the ball rolling? So an HOA of 80 condos or townhomes will require just 16 people to raise the checkered flag to signal the end of the association. Does that seem right to anyone?

Howard Flaschen, a broker with Roundtable Realty, said allowing just 20% of residents to force a vote is too low. “Twenty percent of a neighborhood that’s upset being able to overwhelm the entire HOA and get rid of it seems awfully low to me,” Flaschen said. He noted that HOAs often maintain shared amenities — such as pools, tennis courts and landscaped entryways — that benefit entire communities.

Apparently, under the proposal, a 20% petition within the HOA will create the following parameters:

• The HOA board would have 60 days to hold a meeting on dissolving the association.
• Two-thirds of homeowners must vote in favor for the dissolution to pass.
• If the vote fails, residents must wait 18 months before trying again.

The News4 story goes on to provide a list of things that would happen if an HOA actually did finally decide to dissolve, including:

• Employ professionals to liquidate or conclude the board’s affairs
• Conduct the affairs of the association as necessary for the liquidation or termination
• Carry out contracts and collect, pay, and settle debts and claims for and against the HOA
• Defend suits brought against the association
• Sue in the name of the association for all sums due or owed to the HOA or to recover any HOA property

And there’s even more to this list in the story that you can read.

It will be interesting to see if this bill gets any traction. The bill has to clear at least one committee before it can be heard by the Florida House, so it is unclear what, if any action will be taken when the Florida lawmakers convene.

Mr. Flaschen, the realtor, likely has the best argument against this bill:

“HOAs do serve a great purpose in the world of real estate,” he said. “You can often recognize the differences between communities that have HOAs and those that do not. It really boils down to a community effort to keep property values stable.”