HOA Fees Explained

HOA (condo association) fees are the recurring dues every unit owner pays to fund the health of the building and the association. Under Florida law, each owner’s share is based on their unit’s percentage of ownership in the building — as defined in the condo’s declaration — not a flat rate per unit.

It’s important to have your agent verify exactly what’s included in a building’s fee — two buildings can look similar on paper but cover very different things.

$550 a month sounds like a win, until you see what’s behind it. A buyer had their heart set on a condo for exactly that reason — the HOA was only $550, and they kept telling me, “This is perfect, we’ll save hundreds a month compared to the other buildings we looked at.”

Then we pulled the condo docs. That building had almost nothing in reserves, a list of deferred maintenance, and board discussions about repairs that hadn’t been funded yet. Suddenly that “cheap” HOA didn’t look so cheap.

We compared it to another building running about $900 a month. At first they almost ruled it out on price alone. But that building had healthy reserves, had already completed its major repairs, and included more in the fee. Once we laid it out side by side, they realized they weren’t comparing apples to apples.

💡 Jason’s Tip: Don’t shop for the lowest HOA fee — shop for the healthiest building.

• ⚠️Comparing raw fee numbers across buildings without checking what’s actually included.
• ⚠️Treating a low fee as savings without checking whether reserves are funded.
• ⚠️Sellers pricing a listing around a “low HOA” when the real story is underfunded reserves.
• ⚠️Not asking for the current budget, which shows exactly how the fee is allocated.

Post-Surfside, Florida’s SB 4-D reserve funding requirements are pushing many older Miami-Dade buildings to raise fees or issue assessments to catch up on decades of underfunded reserves — something buyers coming from states without similar requirements often aren’t watching for. A fee that would look “normal” in another state can be a red flag here if it hasn’t moved in years despite the building’s age.

If an owner stops paying HOA fees, the association isn’t stuck absorbing the loss. This matters to buyers too: if you’re purchasing in a building with a lot of delinquent owners, the shortfall often gets passed on to everyone else through higher fees or a special assessment.

⚠️ Watch Out: Florida law (Fla. Stat. 718.116) automatically gives the association a lien on the unit for unpaid assessments, plus interest (up to 18%/year) and late fees. If it goes unresolved, the association can foreclose on that lien — similar to a mortgage foreclosure — and take the unit.

Is a higher HOA fee always a bad thing?

No — it often means a building is properly funding reserves and staying ahead of maintenance, which protects you from a surprise assessment later.

Can HOA fees increase after I buy?

Yes, at the board’s discretion through the annual budget process, and there’s no cap under Florida condo law.

What’s the difference between an HOA fee increase and a special assessment?

A fee increase is permanent; an assessment is typically one-time or limited-duration. See our Special Assessments guide for the full breakdown.

Can I see a building’s HOA fee history before making an offer?

Yes — asking for the last few years of budgets and any fee increases is a normal part of due diligence, and your agent can request this directly.