Zoning, HOAs & Condo Law in the Tampa Bay Metro (FL)

Last verified: September 2026 — see the note on staying current at the bottom of this page.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Zoning codes, HOA law, and condominium safety requirements described below apply differently address by address, and city councils, county commissions, and the state legislature amend the underlying rules regularly -- the post-Surfside condo inspection and reserve rules in Section 3 in particular have already changed once since 2022. Always confirm current zoning, HOA status, and any condo association obligations directly with the relevant city or county planning department or the association itself, and talk to a qualified real estate attorney for advice specific to a purchase.

Contents

1. Zoning: each county runs its own Land Development Code
2. HOA law: Florida's Homeowners' Association Act
3. Condo law and the post-Surfside safety overhaul
4. Governance character, area by area
5. Where to check a specific address
6. How we keep this page current

1. Zoning: each county runs its own Land Development Code

Tampa Bay has no single unified metro-wide zoning authority. Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota, and Manatee counties each maintain their own separate Land Development Code (LDC) and planning department, and every separately incorporated city inside them -- Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Sarasota, Bradenton, Dunedin, Safety Harbor, Tarpon Springs, Largo, Temple Terrace, Venice, and others -- maintains its own zoning code on top of that, genuinely separate legal documents from the surrounding county's. Unincorporated areas (much of Carrollwood, Brandon, Riverview, New Tampa, and Westchase in Hillsborough; large parts of unincorporated Pinellas; the Lakewood Ranch master-planned community spanning Sarasota and Manatee) fall under their county's Land Development Code rather than a city's.

Confirm any specific parcel's current zoning directly with the relevant city or county planning department rather than relying on this page for more than the structural picture: Hillsborough County's LDC (hcfl.gov/businesses/zoning/land-development-code), Pinellas County's zoning and land use pages (pinellas.gov/zoning-land-use/), and Sarasota County's and Manatee County's respective planning department sites for those two counties.

2. HOA law: Florida's Homeowners' Association Act

Florida governs most homeowners associations through the Homeowners' Association Act, Chapter 720 of the Florida Statutes -- a comprehensive framework covering board elections, budgets, assessment and lien authority, meeting notice, and members' right to inspect association records. Florida does not maintain a single public database of every HOA-covered property; the authoritative source for whether a specific address carries HOA obligations, and what they are, remains the property's own recorded declaration of covenants, available through the county Clerk of Court, plus the community's management company or board for current dues and rules.

3. Condo law and the post-Surfside safety overhaul

Florida condominiums are governed separately, under Chapter 718 of the Florida Statutes. This is the section of Florida real estate law that has changed the most since 2021, and it matters directly for Tampa Bay: many of the region's coastal condo buildings -- Pinellas's barrier-island communities, Siesta Key and Longboat Key in the Sarasota/Manatee area, and Anna Maria Island just north of Longboat Key -- are three or more stories and fall squarely under the new rules.

Following the 2021 Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside, Florida enacted SB 4-D (2022), most recently amended by HB 913 (2025). Condo and co-op buildings three stories or taller now require a Milestone inspection: buildings within three miles of the coastline at 30 years old and every 10 years after, buildings farther inland at 40 years old and every 10 years after, with associations required to complete their first inspection by December 31, 2026. Buildings with three or more habitable stories also require a Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS), updated at least every 10 years, with existing associations required to have completed one by December 31, 2025 under HB 913's extended deadline.

The practical consequence for buyers: associations can no longer fully waive reserve funding for the SIRS-mandated components (roof, load-bearing structure, fireproofing, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing, exterior paint, windows and doors, and any component with more than $25,000 in deferred costs). Full funding at the level the SIRS recommends is required starting January 1, 2026, with only a limited allowance to pause contributions for up to two consecutive budget years if the association is actively funding milestone-inspection repairs, through December 21, 2028. In plain terms: expect higher, mandatory reserve assessments going forward on older coastal condo buildings across Tampa Bay -- a real, ongoing budgeting fact for a buyer to build into a purchase decision, not a reason to avoid coastal condos outright. This is a genuinely fast-moving area of Florida law; confirm a specific building's current inspection and reserve status with its association and, for general current guidance, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation's condominium FAQ (condos.myfloridalicense.com/faqs/) or a real estate attorney before relying on the dates above.

4. Governance character, area by area

Where we could not independently confirm a specific area's current HOA-coverage share or local historic-district design-review authority in this research pass, we've flagged it as unconfirmed rather than guessing -- worth a direct check with the relevant planning department before you rely on it.

Guide area	Governance character
Downtown Tampa, Davis Islands, Hyde Park, Seminole Heights, Ybor City, South Tampa	Condo and apartment-association governance common in the denser parts of this cluster; Ybor City is a National Historic Landmark District and Hyde Park includes City of Tampa local historic districts -- confirm design-review requirements for a specific address with the City of Tampa's planning department
Westchase, Carrollwood, New Tampa	Heavily HOA-governed master-planned and suburban subdivisions, consistent with most Tampa Bay development since the 1980s
Brandon, Riverview	HOA-governed growth-corridor subdivisions; both are unincorporated, so governed by Hillsborough County's Land Development Code rather than a separate city zoning code
Temple Terrace	Separately incorporated city with its own government and Land Development Code, distinct from unincorporated Hillsborough County
Downtown St. Petersburg, Largo, Pinellas Park	Mixed condo/HOA coverage; each city maintains its own zoning and planning department separate from Pinellas County's
Clearwater, Clearwater Beach, St. Pete Beach/Treasure Island	Coastal condo buildings three stories and up are subject to the Milestone inspection and SIRS requirements in Section 3 -- a real, recurring cost consideration specific to these beach communities
Dunedin, Safety Harbor, Tarpon Springs	Small, separately incorporated cities with historic downtown cores that are largely non-HOA; whether any carries binding local design-review authority beyond National Register listing was not independently confirmed in this research pass
Downtown Sarasota	Mixed condo/HOA governance in the urban core; City of Sarasota maintains its own zoning code separate from Sarasota County's
Siesta Key, Longboat Key	Coastal condo buildings three stories and up are subject to Section 3's Milestone/SIRS requirements; Longboat Key spans both Sarasota and Manatee counties, so which county's zoning applies depends on the specific address
Lakewood Ranch	Large master-planned community spanning Sarasota and Manatee counties, heavily HOA-governed across its component villages
Bradenton, Venice	Separately incorporated cities with their own governments and Land Development Codes, distinct from unincorporated Manatee/Sarasota County

Sources: Hillsborough County, Pinellas County, Sarasota County, and Manatee County Land Development Code and planning department pages (Section 1); Florida Statutes Chapter 720 (Section 2); Florida Statutes Chapter 718, SB 4-D (2022), and HB 913 (2025), plus DBPR condominium program materials (Section 3), as summarized in this research pass. Every "unconfirmed" note above reflects a genuine gap in our sourcing, not a settled no -- confirm directly with the relevant city or county planning department before relying on it.

5. Where to check a specific address

Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Sarasota, Bradenton, Dunedin, Safety Harbor, Tarpon Springs, Largo, Temple Terrace, Venice: each city's own Planning & Development or Community Development department
Unincorporated Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota, or Manatee County: that county's own planning and zoning department
Any address's HOA status or recorded declaration: the relevant county's Clerk of Court
Any condo association's Milestone inspection or SIRS status: the association itself, and the Florida DBPR's condominium division

6. How we keep this page current

The structural mechanics in Sections 1 and 2 (Florida's county-by-county zoning system, Chapter 720's HOA framework) are settled state law and don't change often. Chapter 718's post-Surfside condo safety rules in Section 3, by contrast, have already been amended once (HB 913 in 2025) and remain a genuinely fast-moving area -- recheck current inspection and reserve-funding deadlines before relying on this page for a specific building. The area-by-area table in Section 4 reflects what we could and couldn't confirm as of September 2026 -- we plan to close those gaps in a future update rather than publish a guess. If you spot something on this page that's changed, or notice a broken link, we'd like to know -- see our contact information.