# HOAs Reshape American Dream for Florida Residents

> Florida residents face HOA restrictions that limit racial inclusion and voting rights.
- Title: HOAs Reshape American Dream for Florida Residents | Shortify
- Summary: Florida residents face HOA restrictions that limit racial inclusion and voting rights. HOAs in Florida restrict racial diversity and voting access…
- Keywords: florida, hoas, homeowners, homeownership, racialized, voting, american dream, redlining, homeowner association, community, housing, sociologist
- Source: The Conversation — https://theconversation.com/1-in-2-florida-residents-live-in-hoas-how-these-private-governments-are-reshaping-the-american-dream-282550
- Author: Stephanie A. Dhuman
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: florida, hoas, homeowners, homeownership, racialized, voting, american dream, redlining, homeowner association, community, housing, sociologist
## HOA Control in Florida
Over half of Florida residents live in communities with homeowners associations that restrict movement and housing choices.
## Coretta's Experience
A Black mother of three in a mostly Hispanic Florida community says HOAs push out residents who don't fit their economic expectations.

> I don’t think [the community developers] intended for it to be a heavily Hispanic population. … They were expecting a certain economic class to come here. I think they were trying to push out the ones that they felt didn’t belong. I think they’re doing that and have done that.
## HOA Power Structure
HOAs act as private governments with elected boards that enforce rules on home decor, events, and even voting participation.
## Exclusionary Practices
HOAs charge median $230 monthly dues in Florida, creating barriers for low-income residents and maintaining racial segregation.
## Voting Restrictions
HOAs require in-person voting on Tuesdays, bar renters and multigenerational families from voting, and deny proxy voting.

> I’m not allowed to vote. You’re not allowed to vote with a proxy. My son, [who is listed as the homeowner], works crazy hours. He gets up at 3 in the morning to work, he comes home, has dinner and goes straight to bed … he never makes it. They should have that on the weekends.
## Racialized Impact
Black homeownership rates at 45% remain lower than white homeownership at 73%, despite rising housing prices.
## Historical Context
Historical redlining practices have long inhibited Black and Latino homeownership, creating persistent racial wealth gaps.
## HOA Expansion
HOAs affect over 78 million Americans in the U.S., with 80% of new single-family homes governed by these private groups.
## Future Challenges
As racialized minorities increasingly live within HOAs, homeownership loses its meaning as a symbol of the American Dream.
## American Dream Under Threat
HOAs fence out minority participation and culture, limiting homeownership value for racialized residents.
## Key takeaway

HOAs in Florida restrict racial diversity and voting access, undermining homeownership as a key American Dream goal.