DictionaryOwning

Community development district (CDD): what it means

In Florida, a community development district (CDD) is a local unit of special-purpose government, created under chapter 190 of the state's statutes, to deliver urban community development services to a community. Its board can levy taxes and special assessments on property in the district to pay the bonds that financed its facilities and their maintenance.

In Spanish it is

Distrito de desarrollo comunitario (CDD)

Also written as: CDD · special district · CDD assessment

Verified on October 17, 2026

3 official sources

See the whole dictionary

The full explanation

Those assessments are usually collected with county taxes and are a lien on the property until paid. By law, the contract for the first sale of a home in a CDD must warn you, in conspicuous type, that these charges are in addition to county taxes.

An example

Julio is buying a new home in a Florida community. Before signing, he reads the CDD notice in his contract and asks how much the district charges each year on the tax bill.

You will see it in…

The bold notice in your purchase contract for a new home in Florida
Your county property tax bill
The association's disclosure summary, which mentions special district assessments

Words that go with it

You will rarely see this word alone. These are the ones that show up with it on the same papers.

Still confused by a paper?

A HUD-approved housing counselor can walk you through it. Agencies usually charge little or nothing, many work in Spanish, and they do not sell you anything.

What a housing counselor does See free help

Official sources

We sum up what these official sources say, in plain words. We add no rules they do not state; when a rule changes, the definition and its date change.

1. Florida Legislature · Florida Statutes § 190.003: definitions (community development district) (external site) · in English · Verified on October 17, 2026
2. Florida Legislature · Florida Statutes § 190.021: taxes; non-ad valorem assessments (external site) · in English · Verified on October 17, 2026
3. Florida Legislature · Florida Statutes § 190.048: sale of real estate within a district; required disclosure to purchaser (external site) · in English · Verified on October 17, 2026