PARRISH, Fla. — The state House and Senate have each unanimously approved a House Bill 1203 related to Homeowners’ Associations in Florida.

What You Need To Know

  • House Bill 1203 approved by the House and the Senate would require HOAs in Florida to give each resident its rules and covenants     

  • There are nearly 50,000 HOAs in the state, second most in the country behind California

  • If signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the bill would go into effect on July 1

The legislation would require HOAs in the state to give each resident its rules and covenants and force them to let each person know of any updates to those documents.

Amidst the ponds and newly constructed homes, Jill Hagler, the president of the Willow Bend Homeowners’ Association of Manatee County, loves walking around her neighborhood in Parrish.

“I’m really proud that we’ve made a lot of progress since construction,” she said.

She bought her home with her husband in the Willow Bend community during the pandemic while still living in the Miami area.

“We actually bought thinking that, that was going to be our future retirement home,” Hagler said. “And things changed and now we live here full time.”

After spending some time in her new community, she wanted to get more involved.

As a result, Hagler ran to be president of HOA and won.

“I just have a real passion and I care about our neighborhood,” she said.

Rather than sitting on the sidelines, she’s now forming pool committees, landscaping committees and proactively working to improve her neighborhood.

“This is a new community and so we’re all here coming together, wanting to have the most beautiful neighborhood that we can have,” Hagler said.

She says in order to do that, there needs to be clear communication and transparency in Willow Bend’s HOA.

So, when she learned about the bill approved by the state legislature requiring HOAs to give every resident its covenants and rules, or CCR’s; she says they’re already doing that under her watch in Willow Bend.

“Our CCRs are already on the portal,” she said. “And we’ve been doing a lot of education with neighbors and how to access, how to create an account, how to opt in for emails.”

But she says that isn’t necessarily done by every HOA in Florida, so putting something like this on the books will help other neighborhoods in the state.

“It’s an educational process,” said Hagler. “It’s an educational process.”

Currently, there are about 270 residents in Willow Bend and nearly 50,000 HOAs in the state, which is the second most in the country behind California.

So, having things like pools, ponds and trees is what residents appreciate but, to Hagler, perhaps the best thing for places like Willow Bend is that dedication to transparency and community.

After unanimous approval by both the House and Senate, the bill now awaits the governor’s signature.

If it’s signed, it would go into effect on July 1.