Ocala, FL HOA Rules: Assessment & Dues (2026)

City of Ocala Code of Ordinances § 114-98(b) governs private and gated subdivisions where streets, drainage and common areas are not dedicated to the public. Before the city council approves the plat, the developer must deliver to the city engineer certified copies of the HOA's articles of incorporation, bylaws, and restrictive covenants, all approved by the city attorney as to form and manner of execution. At a minimum those covenants must designate the homeowners association as the entity responsible for maintaining private streets, roads and drainage facilities, and must establish a procedure requiring the association to assess lot owners a proportionate share of maintenance, repair and replacement costs for common areas, including open space and environmentally sensitive land.

The covenants must also let the association obtain liens on individual lots for unpaid assessments and foreclose on those liens. Developers must include a signed and sealed engineer's estimate of expected annual maintenance and replacement costs, and the covenants must require annual assessments to begin within one year after the private facilities are built, covering both maintenance and a reserve for future major repairs. The city holds itself harmless from maintenance costs and tort liability tied to the private streets and drainage system, and covenants must disclose that owners get no tax discount for private infrastructure.

Growth Management reviews these covenants as part of plat approval; the requirement applies only to platted private or gated subdivisions, not to public streets maintained by the city.