If a letter has arrived telling you to clean your roof, the first thing worth knowing is this. No Florida statute requires a homeowner to clean a roof. There is no state law about roof algae. If you are obliged to do anything, that obligation comes from your own association’s declaration of covenants, not from Tallahassee.
That matters, because it changes what you should read first. Not the state law. Your own community documents.
Where an association gets the power in the first place
Florida Statutes section 720.3035 governs architectural control in homeowners associations, and it puts a limit on this. The association’s authority over how the outside of your home looks applies only where that authority is, in the words of the statute, "specifically stated or reasonably inferred" in the declaration of covenants, or in published guidelines the declaration authorises.
The same section requires the association to apply and enforce those standards reasonably and equitably on all parcel owners. Those are the statute's own words.
So there are two fair questions to ask when a letter arrives. Does the declaration actually give them this power. And are they applying it to everybody, or just to you.
What an association can actually do about it
Section 720.305 of the Florida Statutes covers fines and suspensions. The numbers in it are worth knowing before anybody panics.
- A fine may not exceed $100 per violation, unless the governing documents provide otherwise
- The board may fine for each day a violation continues, with a single notice and one opportunity for a hearing
- Those daily fines may not exceed $1,000 in the aggregate, unless the governing documents provide otherwise
- A fine of less than $1,000 may not become a lien against your property
Read the words "unless the governing documents provide otherwise" carefully, because they appear twice and they are the whole game. Some declarations set higher ceilings. Yours is the document that decides, and that is why this page keeps pointing back at it.
You have a right to a hearing, and the deadlines are specific
Before a fine or a suspension can be imposed, section 720.305(2)(b) requires the association to give you at least 14 days written notice of your right to a hearing. The hearing has to be held within 90 days after that notice is issued. The notice itself has to do some work too. It must describe the alleged violation, state the specific action required to cure it, and give the hearing date and location. If the hearing is held by telephone or video, you have the right to attend that way.
The hearing is not in front of the board. It goes before a committee of at least three members, appointed by the board, who are not officers, directors or employees of the association, and not the spouse, parent, child, brother or sister of one. Under section 720.305(2)(c), that committee can only do one of two things by majority vote: confirm the fine, or reject it. It cannot negotiate a different number.
In plain terms, an independent panel of your neighbours has to agree with the board before you owe anything.
Fix it before the hearing and the fine goes away
This is the part most people holding a letter do not know. Under section 720.305(2)(e), if the violation has been cured before the hearing, or cured in the way the written notice told you to, a fine or a suspension may not be imposed at all.
So the 14 days is not only a warning. It is a window. A roof cleaned inside it ends the matter, and the association does not get to fine you for the time it spent writing to you.
Two more deadlines sit behind that, both in your favour. The committee has 7 days after the hearing to put its findings in writing, under section 720.305(2)(d). And if a fine is confirmed, section 720.305(2)(f) says the date it falls due must be at least 30 days after that written notice, with no attorney fees chargeable to you for anything the board did before that date.
What to do when the letter arrives
In order, and most of this costs nothing.
- Read the letter for what it actually demands. Some ask for the roof to be cleaned. Some ask for the stains to be gone. Those are not the same deadline, because a soft washed roof keeps clearing for several weeks after the work is done as the dead algae washes off in the rain.
- Find the clause. The notice has to describe the violation and the specific action that would cure it, under section 720.305(2)(b). If yours does not, ask for it in writing. Ask as well which provision of the declaration they are relying on, because section 720.3035 limits them to the authority the declaration actually gives them.
- Check the deadline against the 14 day notice rule above.
- Look at your neighbours. Consistent application is a statutory requirement, not a courtesy.
- Then get quotes, if the work is genuinely needed. Most roof soft washing in this area runs $300 to $900.
Lee County and Collier County
We checked, and no Lee or Collier county ordinance requires a homeowner to clean a roof. Cape Coral's own published list of common code violations does not mention roofs, mould, mildew or algae either. Cape Coral has adopted the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code, which governs the condition of a building in general terms, but that code is about disrepair rather than appearance. Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Naples, Bonita Springs, Estero and Lehigh Acres all sit inside Lee or Collier county, and in all of them the roof cleaning obligation is a private one between you and your association.
That is worth saying plainly because it is often assumed to be a city code matter. On the evidence we can find, it is not. If somebody tells you the city requires it, ask them which ordinance, and check it against the city's own code before you pay anybody.
Questions people ask
Can my HOA force me to clean my roof in Florida?
It can if your declaration of covenants gives it that authority, and section 720.3035 says that authority has to be specifically stated or reasonably inferred in the declaration or in guidelines the declaration authorises. No state statute creates the obligation on its own.
How much can an HOA fine me for a dirty roof?
Section 720.305(2) caps a fine at $100 per violation and $1,000 in the aggregate for a continuing violation, unless your governing documents provide otherwise. Many do provide otherwise, so check yours.
Can they put a lien on my house over it?
Not for a fine of less than $1,000. Section 720.305(2) says a fine of less than $1,000 may not become a lien against a parcel. Above that figure, and for unpaid assessments, different rules apply and that is a question for a Florida attorney rather than for us.
Do I get a say before they fine me?
Yes. At least 14 days written notice of your right to a hearing, the hearing within 90 days, and a committee of at least three people who are not officers, directors, employees or their close relatives deciding whether to confirm or reject it. The notice has to tell you what you are accused of and what would fix it.
If I clean the roof before the hearing, can they still fine me?
No. Section 720.305(2)(e) says that if the violation is cured before the hearing, or cured as the written notice specified, a fine or suspension may not be imposed. Getting the work done inside the 14 day window is usually the cheapest way out of a violation letter.
Does a clean roof actually matter, or is it only about appearance?
Honestly, mostly appearance. Algae streaking is not structural damage. Where it stops being cosmetic is thick moss that lifts tiles or holds water against the roof, and that is worth dealing with whether or not anybody sent you a letter.
How often does a roof need cleaning here?
Every two to three years suits most homes in Southwest Florida, and closer to two on a shaded or waterfront lot. The rainy season runs June through September and that is when growth is fastest.
A note on what this page is
This is general information about how Florida homeowners associations work, checked against the published statutes. It is not legal advice and we are not attorneys. Your own declaration of covenants and your association’s governing documents are the authority on your own roof, and they can set different numbers from the defaults above. If real money or a lien is involved, speak to a Florida attorney.
If you do need the work done
Call (239) 307-0275. Tell us the roof type and rough size and we will get you quotes from local roof cleaning pros. The quote is free.
Email: capecoralpressurewash@gmail.com