The Undead HOA: Florida Homeowners Say Their Developer-Controlled Board Just Won’t Die

A legal dispute in Homestead, Florida is putting a spotlight on what some experts call a “zombie HOA,” a homeowners association where developer control continues long after residents believe the community should have transitioned to homeowner leadership.

Homeowners at Villa Portofino East, a 117 townhome community in Homestead, have filed a lawsuit against affiliates connected to the developer of the community. The homeowners claim the developer has continued to control the HOA for nearly 20 years after the homes were sold, while collecting dues from residents and maintaining authority over association decisions.

Control and decision making authority in Florida residential communities governed by associations is supposed to transfer from the developer to the homeowners once statutory turnover requirements have been met.

According to the lawsuit, affiliates of Prime Homes at Villa Portofino East, tied to Prime Group and PMG Asset Services, have appointed representatives and employees to the HOA board for the past two decades. The developer controlled board and its attorneys have reportedly told homeowners that the requirements for transferring control of the association have not yet been met.

The homeowners disagree.

Residents Edney Del Risco, Eliseo Moreno, and Madeline Garcia, who have co owned a townhome at Villa Portofino East since 2022, are among the homeowners challenging the continued developer control.

“They are not the only owners in the community with these concerns; they are the ones who chose to file,” their attorney, Eduardo Gomez, told Realtor.com.

Under Florida’s Homeowners’ Association Act, homeowners become entitled to elect a majority of the association’s board within three months after 90 percent of the parcels in all phases of the community ultimately operated by the association have been conveyed to members or other owners who are not affiliated with the developer.

The lawsuit alleges that the developer controlled HOA improperly included transferred land in its calculation of residential parcels to delay the turnover of control to homeowners.

On June 26, 2024, the Villa Portofino East Community Development District transferred two parcels to Prime Hotel Group at Homestead, LLC, according to the lawsuit. Although those parcels are now reportedly slated for commercial use as the site of a new hotel, the HOA allegedly continues to count them as residential parcels when calculating whether the statutory threshold for homeowner control has been met.

“The developer now appears to treat the same parcels two different ways, depending on which calculation favors it: residential when that helps prolong developer control of the HOA, commercial when that helps justify the hotel expansion,” Gomez told Realtor.com.

That alleged dual treatment is central to the dispute.

“Our position is that the developer has manipulated the parcel count through a series of post closing land transfers to keep itself artificially below the threshold for nearly two decades,” Gomez said. “The math, as we read it, does not support continued developer control.”

The lawsuit also reportedly raises maintenance concerns at the community. Gomez said the complaint identifies issues including inoperable access gates, an unsafe pool, fountain and pergola, broken paver walkways, fence damage, and degraded stormwater infrastructure.

The broader concern is that delayed turnover can leave homeowners paying assessments without having meaningful control over how the community is governed, how funds are used, or how maintenance priorities are handled.

Florida attorney Chad D. Cummings, who is not involved in the case but has reviewed the situation, told Realtor.com that developer turnover problems are more common than many homeowners realize.

“The developer turnover process fails more often than most people realize. This was a major problem during the 2008 to 09 downturn when many developers went bankrupt, creating ‘zombie HOAs,’ and the issue is starting to rear its head again,” Cummings said.

Cummings also warned that prolonged developer control can create financial and property value concerns for homeowners.

“Whenever we are dealing with a zombie HOA, property values will take a hit,” he told Realtor.com. “Knowledgeable buyers will run in the other direction.”

For Florida associations, this case is a reminder that HOA turnover is not just a legal technicality. It affects who makes decisions, who controls the budget, how assessments are spent, how vendors are selected, how maintenance is prioritized, and how transparent the association is with its members.

Homeowners should understand who controls their board, how turnover thresholds are calculated, whether association records are available, and whether assessments are being used in a way that protects the community’s long term value.

For developers and association boards, the case reinforces the importance of clear records, accurate parcel calculations, transparent communication, and professional governance practices. When turnover questions are left unresolved, mistrust can grow quickly and communities may face legal disputes that are expensive, stressful, and damaging to neighborhood morale.

Professional community association management can help boards and homeowners navigate complex responsibilities with greater clarity. From financial reporting and board meeting support to homeowner communication, vendor coordination, budgeting, and maintenance supervision, experienced management helps associations operate with accountability and consistency.

MyTown Communities specializes in condominium and homeowners association management throughout Southwest Florida, including Fort Myers, Cape Coral, and Estero. Our team provides licensed community association managers, dedicated accounting support, administrative management, budgeting, financial reporting, maintenance supervision, board meeting facilitation, vendor coordination, and homeowner communication.