HOA Fees vs CDD Fees for Orlando Vacation Homes: What Each Pays For and How to Check

One bill comes from the HOA. The other hides inside your property tax bill – where it’s easy to miss

By David Myers, Broker Associate · MyOrlandoVacationHome.com · Last updated October 2026

Many Orlando vacation home resorts charge HOA or condo association fees, and some also sit inside a community development district (CDD) with its own assessments. HOA fees pay for what the community documents assign to the association; CDD assessments pay for public infrastructure and services, often including bonds that built them. CDD assessments usually appear on the county property tax bill rather than as a separate bill, so buyers can miss them. Both can change: boards set budgets every year, and associations can levy special assessments. Before you buy, read the HOA disclosure summary and budget, check the property tax bill for CDD assessments, and order an estoppel certificate.

Ask a resort owner what their HOA costs and you'll get a number. Ask what their CDD costs and you might get a blank look.

That's because the CDD doesn't send a bill that looks like a bill. It rides along on the property tax bill (in a line most people never read) and it can be a meaningful part of what a home costs to own. So let's read both.

What's the Difference Between an HOA Fee and a CDD Fee?

One is a private association; the other is a local government district.

Florida Statutes chapters 190, 197, 718 and 720. Each community's documents decide what its HOA covers.

A resort can have an HOA, a condo association, a CDD or a combination. Some resorts also have a master association above a neighborhood association, each with its own fee. Contact us to confirm current HOA and Management Company fees before you buy.

What Do HOA Fees Pay for at an Orlando Resort?

Whatever the community's documents say – so read them.

At a resort, that can include the clubhouse and pools, common-area landscaping and the gate, and sometimes services for each home such as lawn care, cable or internet. The declaration and the budget tell you which. Florida requires a disclosure summary before you sign a contract in an HOA community. It warns that assessments may change, that you may also owe special assessments to the association or to a local district, and that unpaid assessments can become a lien. If you don't get it, you can cancel within 3 days of receiving it or before closing, whichever comes first.

Read our guide to HOA and condo rental rules as well – the rules matter as much as the fee.

What Is a CDD, and Why Do Some Resorts Have One?

It's a way to build and run a community's infrastructure, paid for by the owners over time.

A community development district is created under Florida's CDD law – by the county or city, or by a state commission for the largest districts. It can levy two kinds of assessments: a debt assessment that repays the bonds used to build things like roads, water, sewer and drainage, and a maintenance assessment that keeps them running. District assessments can be spread over as many as 30 yearly installments. Windsor Cay, for example, has a CDD created by a Lake County ordinance.

Most CDD charges are collected on the county property tax bill, where an unpaid one leads to a tax certificate against the property, the same as unpaid property tax; some districts bill owners directly, so ask the district too. On a builder's first sale, Florida requires a bold notice in the contract that the district may impose taxes or assessments on top of county taxes. On a resale there's no such notice, so ask the seller what the CDD charges and whether the debt portion can be paid off.

What About Condo and Condotel Fees?

Condo fees cover the building too – and Florida's reserve rules can push them up.

A condo association maintains the building as well as the grounds, so its fees cover the roof, structure and exterior. For a building three habitable stories or taller, Florida now requires a structural integrity reserve study at least every 10 years and doesn't let owners vote to skip reserves for those items, and older buildings need milestone inspections. That can raise fees or bring special assessments.

A resale buyer is entitled, at the seller's expense, to the condo's documents – including the budget, financial statement and any inspection summary or reserve study – and can cancel within 7 days, not counting weekends and holidays, after signing the contract and receiving them, up until closing – unless you received them more than 7 business days before you signed. Condotel units add the rental program's own charges; see our condotels page.

How Do You Find Out What a Home Really Owes?

Three documents: the budget, the tax bill and the estoppel certificate.

1. The association budget. Florida HOA budgets may include reserves for capital expenses, and the law warns that unfunded reserves can lead to a special assessment.
2. The property tax bill. Look for non-ad valorem assessments – that's where the CDD shows up. The county tax collector's site has the bill for any parcel.
3. The estoppel certificate – the association’s itemized list of every assessment and amount owed on the home. Buyers are liable along with the seller for unpaid assessments, so make sure one is ordered before closing.

How Do HOA and CDD Fees Affect a Vacation Rental's Returns?

They're fixed costs – you pay them whether the home is booked or not.

HOA, condo and CDD charges come due in empty months too, so they belong at the top of your budget. A resort with higher fees and more amenities may also earn more per night, so compare the fees with what they buy. Our guides to the true cost of owning an Orlando vacation rental and choosing a resort show how to weigh them.

Pros, Cons and Our Take

Pros

• HOA fees often cover the amenities that attract guests.
• A CDD spreads the cost of a community's infrastructure over many years.
• Florida's disclosure, document and estoppel rules give buyers a way to check.

Cons

• CDD assessments are easy to miss because they sit on the property tax bill.
• Boards can raise fees and levy special assessments.
• Condo reserve rules can increase fees in older, taller buildings.

Our Take

Before you compare prices, compare carrying costs: the HOA or condo fee, any CDD on the tax bill and the reserves behind both. Get the disclosure summary, the budget and the estoppel certificate, and ask about special assessments. The HOA bill is the one you'll see every month... the CDD is the one you have to go looking for.

What Owners Should Know

• Watch for the association's budget each year and attend or read the budget meeting minutes.
• Check your property tax notice each year for changes to the CDD assessment.
• Keep a reserve of your own for special assessments.

Official Sources

• Florida Statute 190.021: taxes and special assessments
• Florida Statute 190.048: CDD sales contract disclosure
• Florida Statute 197.3632: non-ad valorem assessments
• Florida Statute 720.401: HOA disclosure summary
• Florida Statute 720.30851: estoppel certificates
• Florida Statute 718.503: condo disclosure before sale
• Florida Statute 718.112: condo bylaws, budgets and reserves

David Myers is a licensed Florida real estate broker, working as a broker associate with Ziro Realty, and is not an attorney or tax professional. This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Laws and local rules change; confirm current requirements with the county, the DBPR and a Florida attorney or tax professional.