Florida’s HOA reform isn’t just about homeowners. It’s about small businesses, too.

Florida has long been a place where opportunity lives close to home. It’s where families put down roots, where entrepreneurs take chances, and where small businesses grow one customer at a time. That spirit of innovation is part of what makes our state strong.

But for many Floridians today, that opportunity is quietly being constrained by a system that was never meant to play such an outsized role in people’s lives: homeowners’ associations.

Over the years, I’ve heard from residents across Florida who are not looking for conflict or special treatment. They’re simply asking for fairness, transparency, and common sense in the communities they help support. Many of them are homeowners who are also small business owners, and for them, HOA decisions can affect far more than aesthetics or neighborhood rules.

They can affect livelihoods.

That’s why House Bill 657, introduced by Rep. Juan Carlos Porras, is an important step toward restoring balance and accountability in Florida’s community association system.

When people think about HOA disputes, they often imagine disagreements over paint colors, landscaping, or parking. But today’s reality is more nuanced. Across Florida, thousands of entrepreneurs operate home-based businesses. These aren’t large or disruptive operations. They are family-owned, lawful businesses run quietly from spare bedrooms, garages, and home offices.

They include contractors who keep tools in a work truck, consultants and accountants who meet clients virtually, parents running online retail businesses, notaries and translators working from home, and service professionals who park a branded vehicle overnight. These are the kinds of small businesses that make up the backbone of Florida’s economy.

In fact, many of the world’s most successful companies started this way. Apple and Amazon famously began in garages. Innovation often starts small, close to home, and outside traditional office space. It’s worth asking: where would those companies be today if an overzealous HOA president had decided early on that entrepreneurship didn’t “fit the neighborhood?”

Unfortunately, some HOAs still approach these situations with vague rules, inconsistent enforcement, and escalating penalties. Instead of working with homeowners to establish reasonable standards, disputes can quickly spiral into fines, legal threats, and uncertainty. For a small business owner, that uncertainty is costly.

Time spent fighting violations is time not spent serving customers. Legal fees can quickly outweigh profits. Even the fear of retaliation can discourage residents from speaking up or investing further in their businesses. In the worst cases, entrepreneurs are forced to shut down home-based operations altogether.

House Bill 657 doesn’t eliminate community standards or weaken responsible associations. What it does is introduce meaningful accountability. It updates how disputes are handled and establishes a lawful, structured process for HOA termination under specific circumstances. At its core, the bill recognizes that homeowners should not be trapped indefinitely in dysfunctional or abusive situations with no path forward.

Strong communities and reform are not at odds. In fact, the healthiest associations are those with clear rules, consistent enforcement, transparent finances, and leadership that listens to residents. Responsible boards should not fear oversight. They should welcome it.

Florida’s leaders often say we are the best state in the nation for starting and growing a business. To live up to that promise, our laws must reflect how modern entrepreneurship actually works. Small business doesn’t just operate in office parks or commercial districts. It operates in neighborhoods. It operates in homes. It operates wherever a Floridian is willing to take a risk and build something better for their family.

That’s why HOA reform matters. Not just for homeowners, but for Florida’s economy.

House Bill 657 offers a thoughtful, balanced approach that protects communities while restoring fairness. Lawmakers should ensure this proposal receives the attention and consideration it deserves, for the sake of property rights, innovation, and the countless small businesses that power our state.

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Julio Fuentes is the President and CEO of the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.