cdd's (community development districts)

Currently, Hillsborough County has over sixty active CDD communities.  Several of the newer housing developments throughout Tampa Bay have CDD's.  A CDD community usually charges the individual homeowner with a fee, or ad valorem tax, on a yearly basis.   This expense is noted on your annual property tax bill.

Please note:  CDD fees or taxes are not HOA (Homeowner Association) dues or fees.  These are entirely two separate type of expenses.  Many communities have both; a CDD and an HOA fee.  The CDD fees or taxes are in addition to the HOA fees.

If you would like to learn more about Community Development Districts, we recommend that you visit http://www.floridaspecialdistricts.org/OfficialList.  This is a very informative site, and you will be able to create different reports, even a customized report of Community Development Districts.

Question: What is a CDD?

Answer: CDD stands for “Community Development District”, which is a governmental unit created to serve the long-term specific needs of a community. A CDD’s main powers are to plan, finance, construct, operate and maintain community-wide infrastructure and services specifically for the benefit of its residents.

Question: What is the cost of a CDD?

Answer: Costs and services vary within each community, depending on benefits and services received. Property owners in the CDD are subject to a non-ad valorem assessment, which appears on their annual property tax bill from the county tax collector. Your portion of the CDD might be in two parts. The first is a share of the annual debt service, if any were issued (this is usually a fixed annual assessment.) The second portion is the annual assessment for operations and maintenance, which can fluctuate up or down from year to year.

Question: What are the benefits to residents of a CDD?

Answer: First, the CDD provides landowners consistently high levels of public facilities and services. Secondly, the District will usually own and operate the Community Club, including the maintenance.  Another benefit is that the residents of the community will ultimately choose who is on the Board of Supervisors.  It is these representatives that will then be able to determine the type, quality and expense of future District services and facilities.  And lastly, the District also helps ensure that community facilities are completed as required by the Development Order.

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