CDD Fees in Lakewood Ranch
What is a CDD fee in Lakewood Ranch?
A yearly charge from a local district, on top of your county property taxes.It pays for public facilities the district builds and keeps up, like roads, stormwater systems and landscaping.
CDD stands for Community Development District. This page shows the two parts of the charge, how the districts in Lakewood Ranch collect it, and how to find the amount on a home before you sign. Lakewood Ranch is the example here. Florida's CDD law applies to CDDs across the state.
Start Here
A CDD is a small local government
It is set up under Florida law to plan, pay for, build and look after a community's shared public facilities.
The district pays for building them by selling bonds, a kind of public loan. Homes and land in the district pay it back, year by year. The district can also charge them each year to keep the facilities running.
That yearly charge is the CDD fee. Florida law calls it an assessment. It comes on top of your county taxes, and the district's board sets it every year.
A CDD is not a homeowners association (HOA). A CDD is a government. In Lakewood Ranch, Town Hall says that because a CDD builds with tax-exempt bonds, the facilities it owns are open to the public. An HOA is a not-for-profit group that enforces its community's rules. A home can be in both, and pay both.
Sources: Your Community, Lakewood Ranch Town Hall, and Section 190.048, Florida Statutes (2026). Retrieved 22 October 2026.
Side by Side
The two parts of a CDD fee
A district can charge two parts, one for debt and one for upkeep. They work in different ways.
Debt part
Pays for what was builtThe bonds that paid to build the facilities
By lot, in line with the benefit each lot gets
Each year's charge is one payment toward a total.
Yes, when the debt on your lot is paid
Sometimes
Ask the district for a payoff amount.
Maintenance part
Pays to keep it upRunning and looking after the facilities
The Stewardship District calls it operations and maintenance, or O&M.
Each year, with the district's budget
No set end date
It is set again every year, so it can change.
No payoff in the Stewardship District
Its payoff covers the debt part only.
The debt part pays for what was built. The maintenance part pays to keep it up, every year.
Under Florida's CDD law, both parts are a lien on the home: a legal claim on it until they are paid, the same as county taxes. Unpaid, they can be enforced the same way as unpaid county taxes.
Sources: Section 190.021, Florida Statutes (2026); Chapter 2005-338, Laws of Florida, Section 6; Lakewood Ranch Stewardship District. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
In Lakewood Ranch
Lakewood Ranch has six districts
Lakewood Ranch is made up of six districts: five Community Development Districts and one Stewardship District. Find out which one a home is in, and what it charges.
Five Community Development Districts
CDD 1 (Summerfield and Riverwalk), CDD 2 (Country Club South and Edgewater), CDD 4 (Greenbrook), CDD 5 (Country Club North) and CDD 6 (Country Club West). Lakewood Ranch Town Hall manages all five. Each has its own board. See the districts on Town Hall's site.
The Lakewood Ranch Stewardship District
The Florida Legislature created it with a special law in 2005. It covers more than 25,000 acres in Manatee and Sarasota counties. It is not a CDD, but it charges the same two parts each year: a bond debt part and an O&M part.
The district posts a schedule of its yearly charges. The amounts depend on the neighborhood, the lot size and the type of home. Each year's charges run from October 1 to September 30. See the district's yearly charges.
Before You Sign
How to find the CDD fee on a home
Find both parts, and how many years are left on the debt part, before you sign.
Read the district notice in the contract
On the first sale of a home or lot in a district, such as a new home from a builder, Florida law says the contract must carry a notice right above where you sign. It must be in bold type, larger than the rest of the contract. It says the district may charge taxes or assessments, on top of county taxes, set every year by its board. That rule covers the first sale only. On a resale, ask the seller.
Ask the district for its financing papers
Each district must make its public financing and maintenance information available to anyone thinking of moving in. A CDD also files those papers in the county's property records.
Look at the home's tax bill
A Florida county tax bill has a part called Non-ad Valorem Assessments, meaning charges not based on the home's value. It lists the district charges collected on the bill, and the amount of each. A district can choose to collect another way, so ask the district too. Look up a bill with the Manatee County Tax Collector or the Sarasota County Tax Collector.
Ask the district for this year's amount
Ask for both parts on the lot, how many yearly payments are left on the debt part, and whether it can be paid off. A lot can carry more than one bond, so ask about each one. The Stewardship District's site lists where to send payoff requests. Find its contact details.
Sources: Sections 190.048, 190.009 and 197.3635, Florida Statutes (2026); Chapter 2005-338, Laws of Florida, Section 6. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
With a VA Loan
How a VA lender counts special assessments
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) tells the lender to use the expected amount of any special assessments when it adds up your monthly housing costs.
VA's loan worksheet, VA Form 26-6393, has its own line for special assessments, apart from the line for HOA fees. Florida's CDD law calls a district's two yearly charges special assessments. VA's residual income test then looks at the money left each month, after those housing costs and your debts, for family living costs. Our guide Does BAH count as income for a VA loan? explains that test.
Ask your lender how it counts the district charges on the home you want.
Sources: VA Lenders Handbook, Chapter 4, Credit Underwriting (Topic 9, b and e), and VA Form 26-6393, Loan Analysis, VA. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
The Limits
What this page does not decide
This page is not tax or legal advice, and it does not tell you whether a home's CDD fee is worth it. The district sets the charge. Your lender and VA decide your loan. A tax professional can tell you what you can deduct. Get the numbers for the home you want before you sign.
The district sets the fee.A local agent can help with the home.
Andrew Pepper is a Mission Ready Operator who specializes in new construction home purchases for military relocation buyers in Lakewood Ranch.
Last reviewed October 2026 · Maintained by My Military HQ
Common Questions
Questions buyers ask about CDD fees
What is a CDD fee?
It is a yearly charge from a Community Development District (CDD), a small local government that builds and keeps up public facilities like roads and stormwater systems. It comes on top of county property taxes. It can have two parts: a debt part that pays back the bonds that built the facilities, and a maintenance part that pays to keep them up.
Does Lakewood Ranch have CDD fees?
Yes. Lakewood Ranch is made up of six districts: five Community Development Districts and one Stewardship District. What a home pays depends on which district it is in. In the Stewardship District, the charges also depend on the neighborhood, the lot size and the type of home. Ask the district for the amount on the home you want.
Do CDD fees ever go away?
Not all of it. The debt part ends when the debt on your lot is paid. Each year's charge is one payment toward a total. The maintenance part has no set end date: it is set again every year with the district's budget, so it can change. Ask the district how many yearly payments are left on the debt part. A lot can carry more than one bond.
Can you pay off CDD fees early?
Sometimes, for the debt part. The law that created the Lakewood Ranch Stewardship District lets its board set an amount that pays off the debt part on a lot, and the district takes payoff requests. A payoff clears the debt part only. Ask the district whether a payoff is possible on the home you want, and for how much.
Are CDD fees included in property taxes?
They are not property taxes, but they can be on the same bill. A Florida county tax bill has a part called Non-ad Valorem Assessments that lists the district charges collected on it. A district can also choose to collect another way. The Lakewood Ranch Stewardship District says it collects its charges for platted lots, the lots shown on a recorded subdivision map, on the Manatee and Sarasota County tax bills.
Are CDD fees tax deductible?
The IRS guide for homeowners, Publication 530, does not name CDDs. To deduct any home costs, you must itemize your deductions. You cannot deduct a charge for local benefits that raise your home's value, like building streets or water and sewer systems. You can deduct the part for maintenance, repair or interest, if you can show the amount of that part. Some charges on a tax bill cannot be deducted at all, like a yearly charge for a service, and a yearly limit on state and local tax deductions can apply. Ask a tax professional. This is not tax advice.
What is the difference between a CDD and an HOA?
A CDD is a local government. In Lakewood Ranch, Town Hall says that because a CDD builds with tax-exempt bonds, the facilities it owns are open to the public. A homeowners association (HOA) is a not-for-profit group that enforces its community's rules. A home can be in both and pay both.
Sources
Where every rule came from
Every rule on this page comes from the law, agency or district that sets it. We link each one so you can check it.
- A CDD's two charges, the lien and how they are collected. Section 190.021, Florida Statutes (2026), The Florida Senate. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
- The notice in a new home contract. Section 190.048, Florida Statutes (2026), The Florida Senate. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
- The district's financing papers. Section 190.009, Florida Statutes (2026), The Florida Senate. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
- The Non-ad Valorem Assessments part of the tax bill, and what non-ad valorem means. Section 197.3635 and Section 197.3632, Florida Statutes (2026), The Florida Senate. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
- The Stewardship District's law: its two charges, the payoff amount, the notice and its financing papers. Chapter 2005-338, Laws of Florida, Section 6. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
- The Stewardship District's size, its two charges, its yearly schedule and payoff requests. Lakewood Ranch Stewardship District and its Annual Non-Ad Valorem Assessments page. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
- Lakewood Ranch's six districts, what a CDD and an HOA are, and public access to district facilities. Your Community, Lakewood Ranch Town Hall, which manages the five CDDs. The page sits on the Lakewood Ranch community website. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
- Tax bills. Manatee County Tax Collector and Sarasota County Tax Collector.
- How a VA lender counts special assessments. VA Lenders Handbook, Chapter 4, Credit Underwriting (updated 26 August 2026) and VA Form 26-6393, Loan Analysis (September 2025), VA. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
- Deducting charges for local benefits. Publication 530, Tax Information for Homeowners, IRS, for 2025 returns. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
What we left out on purpose. We give no dollar amounts for any district, because they change every year and differ by neighborhood and lot. Use the district's own schedule or the home's tax bill. We do not say which neighborhood or builder sits in which district: the district can tell you. We do not cover HOA fees, a district's bond terms, or Florida's resale contract forms.
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