Florida CDD Assessments and Foreclosure: What Homeowners Must Know

September 12, 20268 min readBy Barrett Henry, REALTOR®Last updated: September 12, 2026

Barrett Henry is a Broker Associate at REMAX Collective with 23+ years of Florida real estate experience. He helps homeowners across all 67 Florida counties navigate foreclosure, including the complex CDD assessment issues that affect communities throughout Central Florida and Tampa Bay. Direct service in the Tampa Bay area; referral connections statewide.

If you live in a planned community in Florida -- particularly in Central Florida or the Tampa Bay area -- your home may be located in a Community Development District (CDD). When you fall behind on your mortgage and face foreclosure, CDD assessments add a layer of complexity that many homeowners do not anticipate. Unlike HOA fees, CDD assessments are a governmental obligation created under Florida law, and they do not simply go away when a home is foreclosed.

What Is a CDD and Why Does It Matter in Foreclosure?

A Community Development District is a special-purpose local government created under Chapter 190 of the Florida Statutes to finance the infrastructure of large planned communities. When a developer wants to build a major community (think Fishhawk Ranch in Hillsborough County, Wiregrass Ranch in Pasco County, or the thousands of communities throughout the I-4 corridor), they often form a CDD to issue tax-exempt bonds and pay for roads, drainage, utilities, and amenities upfront.

Those bond costs are passed on to homeowners as two types of assessments:

Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Assessment -- annual fee for ongoing maintenance, typically collected with your property tax bill by the county tax collector
Capital (Bond) Assessment -- installment payment toward the principal and interest on the CDD bonds used to build the infrastructure, also typically collected with property taxes

Because CDD assessments are collected through the property tax system, they enjoy a special priority status. They are treated similarly to ad valorem taxes -- meaning they can survive a mortgage foreclosure sale and become the responsibility of the new owner.

CDD Assessments vs. HOA Fees in Foreclosure

It is important not to confuse CDD assessments with HOA fees. Florida HOA and condo association liens are governed by F.S. 720.3085 and 718.116 respectively. They have a limited super-priority for up to 12 months of past-due assessments against a first mortgage. Learn more about HOA vs. mortgage foreclosure in Florida.

CDD assessments operate differently. Because they are collected as part of the property tax bill, unpaid CDD O&M and bond installments that become delinquent are handled through the tax certificate process (F.S. Chapter 197). Tax certificates earn interest and can eventually lead to a tax deed sale if not redeemed. This means that letting CDD assessments go unpaid -- even if you plan to let the mortgage foreclose -- can accelerate problems significantly.

What Happens to CDD Debt When Your Home Is Foreclosed

When the first mortgage lender forecloses, the CDD must be named as a defendant if there are recorded CDD liens outstanding. However, the ongoing CDD obligation does not get extinguished. After the foreclosure sale:

Ongoing O&M assessments continue as a property obligation
Ongoing bond installment payments continue as a property obligation
Any accumulated surplus funds from the sale would be allocated to CDD and other lienholders before reaching the former homeowner
The buyer at auction takes the property subject to prospective CDD obligations

This is why investors who buy at Florida foreclosure auctions must understand CDD obligations. A home with a $500/year O&M assessment and a $3,500/year bond payment represents a meaningful ongoing cost that must be factored into the purchase price and holding cost analysis. Learn more about bidding at a Florida foreclosure auction.

How CDD Affects Your Options

If you are facing mortgage foreclosure in a CDD community, keep these points in mind:

Keep paying CDD assessments if at all possible -- letting these go delinquent can create additional lien complications even if you are planning to sell or surrender the property
Disclose CDD debt to buyers -- required by F.S. 689.261 before any sale contract is signed
Include CDD payoffs in short sale calculations -- your title company will need to account for any past-due CDD amounts in the HUD-1/ALTA settlement statement
Consult a Florida attorney about the treatment of CDD bond debt in bankruptcy if that is an option you are considering

For all foreclosure options -- including loan modification, forbearance, short sale, selling before foreclosure, and deed in lieu -- use our Florida foreclosure survival checklist to stay organized. And consider reaching out to a HUD-approved housing counselor for free guidance on navigating the options.

Florida has over 700 active CDDs in communities from Escambia County to Miami-Dade. Whether you are in Brandon, Riverview, Wesley Chapel, The Villages, or anywhere else in Florida's planned community landscape, understanding CDD obligations is an important part of managing your foreclosure situation.

Facing foreclosure in a CDD community? Get free help today -- no cost, no obligation.

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Barrett Henry

REALTOR® & Broker Associate | REMAX Collective

Barrett Henry has 23+ years of real estate experience helping Florida homeowners navigate foreclosure, short sales, and distressed property situations. He serves all 67 Florida counties with offices in Tampa, Largo, and Brandon.

(813) 761-0133

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Community Development District (CDD) in Florida?

A Community Development District (CDD) is a special-purpose local government established under Chapter 190 of the Florida Statutes. CDDs are created to finance, construct, and maintain infrastructure in planned communities -- including roads, drainage, utilities, parks, and recreational facilities. Florida has over 700 active CDDs, concentrated heavily in Central Florida (The Villages, Celebration, Nocatee) and Tampa Bay (Fishhawk Ranch, FishHawk Ranch West, many Pasco County communities). CDD assessments appear on your annual property tax bill as a separate line item.

Can a CDD foreclose on my home in Florida?

Yes. A CDD has the authority to place a lien on property for unpaid assessments under F.S. 190.026 and can foreclose that lien under the same statutory framework as property tax certificates (F.S. Chapter 197). Unpaid CDD assessments can also be collected through the county tax certificate and tax deed sale process, since they are typically assessed and collected by the county tax collector alongside property taxes. Importantly, CDD debt assessment liens -- the annual maintenance and operations fees -- are generally not extinguished by a mortgage foreclosure sale because they are treated similarly to property taxes.

Do CDD assessments survive a mortgage foreclosure in Florida?

CDD assessments fall into two categories. The annual operations and maintenance (O&M) assessment, collected with property taxes, survives a mortgage foreclosure sale -- the new owner takes the property subject to any ongoing CDD O&M obligations. The capital (bond) assessment, which is the installment debt created to repay the bonds used to build the infrastructure, may also survive the foreclosure sale as a lien, meaning the foreclosure buyer (or subsequent owner) remains responsible for ongoing installment payments. Whether the CDD was named as a defendant in the foreclosure affects the treatment of accrued past-due amounts, but prospective obligations generally continue.

What happens to CDD debt when I am facing mortgage foreclosure?

Your ongoing obligation to pay CDD assessments does not stop because you are in mortgage foreclosure. CDD O&M fees continue to accrue. If you stop paying them, the CDD can place an additional lien on the property, and that unpaid balance may need to be resolved at closing if you sell or during the foreclosure process. Missing both mortgage payments and CDD assessments accelerates your financial problems. You should disclose all CDD obligations to any potential buyer and factor them into any short sale payoff calculations.

Are CDD assessments included in a short sale payoff in Florida?

In a short sale, the title company conducting the closing will order a payoff letter from the CDD (or verify through the tax records) and include any past-due CDD amounts in the closing settlement. Prospective CDD obligations -- the ongoing bond debt installments -- typically transfer to the buyer, who accepts responsibility for future payments. Lenders approving a short sale generally understand that the CDD bond assessment survives as a property obligation, so the buyer knowingly takes on that recurring expense.

How much are typical CDD assessments in Florida?

CDD assessments vary widely. Combined O&M plus bond payments can range from a few hundred dollars per year in older CDDs with paid-off debt to $3,000-$5,000 or more per year in newer communities with significant infrastructure bond debt. The bond assessment component decreases each year as principal is repaid and eventually disappears when the bonds are fully paid off, but that can take 20-30 years from the community's founding. Always check the full CDD assessment amount -- both O&M and bond -- before purchasing a home in a CDD community.

Can bankruptcy eliminate CDD assessments in Florida?

CDD assessments can be complicated in bankruptcy. Pre-petition (before filing) arrears on CDD assessments can potentially be treated as unsecured debt in Chapter 7 and discharged, but this does not eliminate the underlying lien on the property. Ongoing post-petition CDD assessments on property you retain are generally treated as administrative expenses or ongoing obligations that are not dischargeable. Chapter 13 may allow you to cure pre-petition CDD arrears over the repayment plan while maintaining current post-petition payments. Consult a bankruptcy attorney familiar with Florida CDD issues.

What should I tell a buyer about CDD debt when selling a foreclosure-affected home?

Florida sellers have a disclosure obligation under F.S. 689.261 to disclose the existence of a CDD and the fact that CDD assessments are imposed on the property. Buyers must receive this disclosure before or at the time of executing the purchase contract. You must disclose: (1) the property is within a CDD, (2) there is an annual CDD assessment, (3) the amount of the assessment, and (4) that the assessment may change from year to year. Failure to disclose can expose you to legal liability even in a pre-foreclosure or short sale context.

Florida Foreclosure Guides

Understanding your options is the first step. These guides break down every path available to Florida homeowners.

→How Foreclosure Works in Florida →Ways to Stop a Foreclosure →Loan Modification Options →Short Sale Guide →Foreclosure vs. Short Sale →Lis Pendens Explained →Get a Cash Offer →Sell Before Foreclosure

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