We analyzed the recorded deed restrictions for Lakewood Ranch in Sarasota / Manatee County, FL and found 8 issues and 6 gaps between their rules and Florida law.
Lakewood Ranch is a 33,000-acre master-planned community and the nation's top-selling MPC for eight consecutive years, with over 72,000 residents. It has a uniquely complex governance structure — there is no single master HOA. Instead, homeowners are governed by village-level associations (CEVA, SRVA, GBVA, CCWA, and others), each with their own Declaration of Covenants, plus neighborhood-level Supplemental Declarations on top of that. We analyzed the CEVA Homeowners' Manual, the Lakewood National Golf Club CC&Rs, and cross-referenced both against Florida Statute Chapter 720.
Source: CEVA Homeowners' Manual (2022), Lakewood National CC&R (Manatee County Instrument #201641068594)
CEVA requires fines to be paid within 5 days of the Hearing Determination Letter. As of July 2024, Florida Statute §720.305 requires a minimum 30-day payment window. Any fine with a 5-day deadline is procedurally defective.
Under CEVA's Process I, daily fines ($15/day) begin accruing from the date of the first notice letter — before any hearing takes place. Florida law says if you cure the violation before the hearing, no fine can be imposed. Fines accrued before the hearing may be unenforceable under the 2024 amendments.
The Lakewood National CC&R (Section 10.2) grants the HOA and Declarant the right to enter your property and 'summarily abate and remove' violations at your expense, without liability for trespass and without a court order. This self-help clause may conflict with Florida due process requirements.
The CEVA manual requires all exterior changes to go through a Modifications Committee, but sets no deadline for the committee to respond. Florida Statute §720.3035 implies a 30-day deemed-approved window. If your request sits unanswered, you may have grounds to proceed.
Neither the CEVA manual nor the Lakewood National CC&R requires the architectural review committee to provide specific reasons for denying a modification request. Florida law now requires written denials to cite the specific rule and explain exactly what does not conform.
Lakewood National CC&R Section 18.10 gives the Declarant (Lennar) the right to unilaterally modify, enlarge, amend, waive, or add to all covenants — no homeowner vote required. This power only expires when the Declarant holds no property for sale.
Homeowners may be subject to a CDD, a village-level HOA, and a neighborhood-level Supplemental Declaration simultaneously. Each layer has different rules, different boards, and different enforcement processes. This complexity often means homeowners do not know which rules actually apply to them.
While CEVA provides a 60-day cure period, the Lakewood National CC&R jumps from violation to fines ($100/day up to $5,000) with no explicit right to cure. Florida law requires that homeowners be given the opportunity to fix a violation before a fine takes effect.
Florida Statute Chapter 720 sets minimum requirements for HOA enforcement. Here is where Lakewood Ranch's deed restrictions fall short.
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Homeowners in Lakewood Ranchmost commonly receive violations for exterior paint colors, landscaping changes, unauthorized structures, parking infractions, and signage. The community's Deed Compliance department actively patrols neighborhoods and issues notices.
If you received a violation notice, you have rights under Florida law regardless of what the deed restrictions say. Florida Statute Chapter 720 sets minimum procedural requirements that your HOA must follow before imposing any fine, including written notice and a hearing before the board.
Many homeowners do not realize that their HOA's internal documents may not reflect all the protections available to them under state law. That gap between what the documents say and what the law requires is often where the strongest defenses are found.