If you’re buying a home in Central Florida — especially in a newer community built in the last 20 years — there’s a good chance you’ll encounter a CDD. Community Development Districts are common here, and most buyers have never heard of them before their first purchase. By the time it comes up in the transaction, there isn’t always time to fully understand what you’re signing up for.
This is worth understanding before you start making offers. Here’s what CDDs actually are, how they affect your costs, and what to look for before you commit to a home that has one.
A Community Development District is a special-purpose local government created under Florida law to finance, build, and maintain the infrastructure in a new development. Roads, drainage systems, utilities, community pools, clubhouses, parks — the developer uses the CDD to issue municipal bonds to fund all of it upfront, then passes the debt along to the homeowners through annual assessments.
From a developer’s perspective, CDDs are a financing tool that lets them build out a community’s amenities before homes are sold. From a buyer’s perspective, they’re an ongoing cost you’ll carry for as long as you own the home — or until the bonds are paid off.
This is the part most buyers don’t realize until they dig into the numbers. CDD assessments almost always have two separate components:
Both components appear on your annual property tax bill. They’re separate line items from your county property taxes and your HOA dues if you have one. When you’re budgeting for a home in a CDD community, you need to account for all three.
A lot of buyers assume CDDs and HOAs are the same or that one replaces the other. They’re distinct and many communities have both.
| CDD | HOA |
| Created by Florida statute as a unit of local government | Created by the developer as a private nonprofit corporation |
| Assessments collected on your property tax bill | Dues collected directly by the HOA |
| Can issue bonds and levy assessments | Cannot issue bonds; collects dues only |
| Governed by elected board (eventually) | Governed by elected board of homeowners |
When you’re looking at a listing in a CDD community that also has an HOA, your monthly housing costs include your mortgage payment, property taxes (including both CDD assessments), and HOA dues. That can add up to several hundred dollars per month that doesn’t appear in the base mortgage payment.
CDD assessments vary significantly depending on the community, the scope of the infrastructure that was financed, and how far along the bonds are in being paid off. In Central Florida, annual CDD assessments commonly range from around $1,000 to $3,500 or more per year. In larger master-planned communities with extensive amenities, they can be higher.
Here’s a rough example of what the full cost picture can look like on a $450,000 home in a CDD community:
| Item | Annual | Monthly |
| County property taxes (est.) | $6,750 | $563 |
| CDD debt service assessment | $1,400 | $117 |
| CDD O&M assessment | $900 | $75 |
| HOA dues | $1,800 | $150 |
| Total Annual Non-Mortgage Costs | $10,850 | $904 |
These are illustrative estimates. Actual figures vary by community. Always verify the specific CDD assessment amounts before making an offer.
CDDs aren’t inherently bad. Some of the best communities in Central Florida — well-maintained, amenity-rich, with strong resale values — are CDD communities. The amenities they financed are often what makes those neighborhoods attractive in the first place.
What matters is going in with clear eyes about the full cost. A buyer who focuses only on the mortgage payment and ignores the CDD assessments and HOA dues can end up house-rich and cash-poor in a hurry. When I’m working with a buyer in a CDD community, I make sure we’re looking at the total monthly cost — not just the number on the listing sheet.
The other thing worth knowing: CDD assessments stay with the property, not the owner. When you sell, the buyer inherits the remaining obligation. If the remaining debt is significant, it can affect how you price the home and how buyers perceive its value. Something to factor in from day one.
If you’re looking at a home in a CDD community and want help understanding the full cost picture before you make an offer, reach out. This is exactly the kind of thing that should be sorted out before you’re under contract, not after.
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