A Resident Wants to Open a Home Daycare. Should Our HOA Allow This?

Since the pandemic, home-based businesses have been flourishing around the country. Many home-based businesses have no impact on the neighbors or community. However, others, particularly ones in which customers visit the home in-person, can have a negative impact on neighbors. One such business is a home-based daycare.

Having a home-based daycare in your community can be an attribute for working parents who live in the community; it is incredibly convenient and provides peace of mind that a community member, rather than a stranger, is watching their child. However, other community members may find the daycare to be a nuisance. The daycare will inevitably lead to an increase in traffic during drop-off and pick-up times, an increase of non-community members walking around the neighborhood, a decrease in available on-street parking spots, potentially more noise from the children playing outside, and potentially increased use of the HOA amenities.

In 2021, Governor DeSantis signed a law allowing all home-based businesses, including daycares, to operate in areas previously zoned only for residential use. There is a loophole though: if your HOA has a declaration prohibiting home-based businesses, you may be able to prohibit the community member from operating a home-based daycare center. Make sure to check with your HOA’s attorney on the details of your specific situation.

If your HOA lacks a declaration prohibiting home-based business, but has regulations prohibiting them, the law supersedes your HOA’s regulations and your HOA must allow them, including home-based daycares. If your HOA is in this situation, contact your attorney to learn if you have any options for placing parameters on the daycare operations. Some considerations are requiring the daycare to:

• Avoid using common area amenities, such as playgrounds, clubhouses, or pools
• Comply with all local and state licensing regulations
• Provide the HOA leadership team with a certificate of insurance
• Sign an agreement indemnifying the HOA in the event that a child (or parent dropping off their child) is injured on HOA property
• Agree to continue to follow all the HOA regulations, such as parking rules, noise ordinances, etc.

Your community may or may not be able to prohibit a home-based daycare from operating onsite. Even if you are required to allow it, the benefits of having a home-based daycare right in the community may outweigh the drawbacks depending on the life stage that the majority of your community members are in.

Consolidated Community Management (CCM) is a full-service property management company specializing in condominium and homeowner association management in Broward and southern Palm Beach Counties.  We are committed to working together with community Boards of Directors to develop management plans tailored to the unique requirements of each community and their residents.

CCM provides a quality of service that is unique to our industry and consistently delivers a distinct competitive advantage.  Our concentrated, extensive local presence and knowledge of community associations results in lasting partnerships and superior service.  We have built our industry reputation on employing the best in the business and assigning only a limited number of properties to each Property Manager Team.

Our team at Consolidated Community Management provides expert property management services at competitive prices.  Contact us today by calling (954) 718-9903 or clicking on ccmfla.com.