One of Broward County's biggest HOAs is locked in a drawn-out fight over its rental rules. An insider walked us through the case; here is what is actually going on.
Key Takeaways
- Heron Bay's board passed revised rental rules on September 3, 2026, after residents pushed back on its two most contested proposals.
- Four remaining rules are headed to mediation on November 17, 2026, with some landlords disputing the board's authority to impose them.
- A landlord alleges retaliatory violations and a tenant has filed an HUD complaint, while the master board denies retaliation.
HOA disputes are common across South Florida, and the one at Heron Bay is unusually large. The community spans Coral Springs and Parkland, with more than 10,000 residents, and a push to tighten its rental rules has become a layered, public fight involving mediation, alleged retaliation, and a federal fair-housing complaint.
We covered an earlier chapter of this dispute when the HOA postponed its vote after an uproar, and it has escalated since. We hosted A.J. Steigman on the Discover South Florida Podcast this week; he and his partner own 17 properties in the community. Here is a breakdown of what we covered: what the board changed, what is still being fought, the retaliation and discrimination claims now in play, and why it matters for owners and renters.
How Did the Heron Bay Rental Fight Start?
Steigman, who says he has owned at Heron Bay for about ten years, traces the fight to a newer board that he describes as running on an anti-landlord platform. By his account, the first move was removing what the community called hardship lease variances, provisions that for decades let an owner lease out a unit mid-cycle in extreme situations such as a death, a divorce, or a job relocation. He pointed to owners he says were denied that exception and were left with a home they couldn't rent for months. The board and its supporters see the tightening differently, which is the heart of the dispute.
From there, he says, came a set of proposed rules that landlords and many owners read as severe: a "two violations and you are out" provision that could push a landlord to evict a tenant over minor infractions, and a requirement that landlords attend an orientation for every lease and renewal, which for an owner of 17 units, like Steigman, would mean repeating the same class many times a year.
What set the crackdown off
The board ultimately dropped those two proposals. Agents also point to a catalyst on the other side of the ledger: according to Heron Bay agent Michael Citron, the push was driven in part by a rental home that a pair of viral social-media creators ran as a "content house" a few years ago, with a revolving door of guests and a 2022 SWAT response. Citron says incidents like that have pushed HOAs across South Florida to tighten rental rules, which is the backdrop for many recent changes to Florida HOA regulations.
Wondering how an HOA's rental rules could affect a home you own or want to buy in Heron Bay? Talk to a real estate agent in Coral Springs who reads the governing documents before you commit. Reach out to The Mastropieri Group or call (954) 710-6504.
What Did the Board Pass, and What Is Still Being Fought?
On September 3, 2026, the Heron Bay Community Association board voted unanimously to adopt a revised set of rules, dropping the orientation requirement and the violation-based ban after an outcry. About 200 of the community's 10,000-plus residents attended the meeting at a Coral Springs hotel. Steigman says one board member has since resigned and a former board president spoke against how the vote was handled, and he raised transparency concerns, noting that the master board's meetings are usually offered on Zoom but this one was not. The board has not publicly detailed its reasoning on those process points.
Four rules remain and are headed to mediation on November 17, 2026:
- A limit of one lease per year with re-registration required to renew
- A ban on all short-term rentals such as Airbnb and timeshares
- A provision making owners jointly liable with tenants for damage to common areas
- A required tenant registration before move-in
According to Steigman, some owners contend the board lacks the authority to impose them. The board's attorney, Matthew Zifrony of Tripp Scott, told The Real Deal that a majority of the roughly 200 attendees wanted the rules stricter, not looser, calling for more screening and tighter leasing limits. In other words, the board says it is answering residents who want a tighter community, even as some owners argue the process has run past what the governing documents allow.
What Do the Numbers Say?
Part of why this dispute is hard to read is the sheer size of Heron Bay. It has more than 3,000 homes and between 10,000 and 12,000 residents, it straddles two cities, and is one of the largest communities in the 33076 ZIP code, with gated entries and private security patrols.
Steigman says only about 10% of the homes are tenant-occupied, which is a small share of the community. He also says a public-records request turned up roughly 30,000 violations issued by the master association since 2020, separate from the individual subdivisions, and that the bulk of them trace to owners rather than tenants, a point he uses to push back on the idea that renters are the source of the community's problems. Those figures come from his account and records request rather than from the board.
The market stakes
There is a market angle underneath all of it. Heron Bay's housing stock is roughly 30 years old, and with mortgage rates near 8%, Steigman argues the community needs every qualified buyer it can get, including investors who renovate dated homes. As Larry Mastropieri framed the stakes on the Discover South Florida Podcast: "There are financial implications or value implications to a number of these rules." Steigman made a similar point about who actually owns these rentals: "A lot of times people who become a landlord, it's just a regular person who has a job relocation or let's say, something happens to them, and they need the money on the side. These are not like evil corporations that are like buying 10,000 units. These are like regular people, you know."
What Are the Retaliation and Discrimination Claims?
This is the most contested part, and the facts here are disputed rather than settled. Steigman says that since September 14, 2026, he has received five violations, one from the master board and four from the Tuscany subdivision board, which he claims are retaliation. The master board's attorney denies that its violation was retaliatory, says the board offered to work with the tenant involved, and notes that the master board does not control the separate subdivision boards.
The fair-housing dimension
Steigman has also pointed to police body-camera footage, reviewed by The Real Deal, in which the president of the Tuscany subdivision board allegedly described an effort to document complaints against him in order to remove him from the community. Tuscany did not respond to The Real Deal's request for comment, and no court has tested the allegation. The case also has a fair-housing dimension: the footage came from an August 20 incident in which someone called police about a teenager who jumped a community pool fence. A tenant, Latesha Cobb, says a claim tying the teen to her family was false and racially motivated, and she says she has since filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. A violation issued to Steigman that day was dropped about two weeks later.
Steigman described other incidents he says he has documented, including rental applicants with strong credit who were initially rejected and later approved after legal pushback. He says he sits on one subdivision board that recently adopted what he calls Heron Bay's first written non-discrimination policy, copied from federal, state, and Broward County statutes. These remain allegations and a pending complaint, not legal findings, and no board has been determined to have broken any law.
Does an HOA Fight Like This Affect Home Values?
For owners watching from the sidelines, the practical question is whether a dispute like this moves home values. The experts who spoke to The Real Deal said usually not. Appraiser Carlos Fong said small HOA issues generally do not affect value, and any effect could take 6 to 18 months to appear. The clearer risk, per Citron, is a rule that shrinks the buyer pool: if Heron Bay barred new buyers from renting out during their first year or two, that could narrow demand to non-investors and move prices.
The takeaway for buyers and sellers
Other professionals' takeaway is straightforward. Favor rental-friendly communities, read the governing documents before you buy, and watch whether a community's internal disputes spill into public view, since reputation can affect demand. It also fits a wider statewide conversation about how much power associations should hold, seen in a proposal that would let Florida homeowners vote to dissolve their HOA.
Watch More on This Topic: Watch this segment | Full Episode | Watch last week's recap
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Heron Bay HOA dispute about?
It centers on new rental rules at Heron Bay, a community of 10,000-plus residents spanning Coral Springs and Parkland. The board says it is tightening rules in response to residents who want more control, while some landlords and owners say the rules go too far and threaten property rights.
What rental rules are headed to mediation?
Four: a one-lease-per-year limit with re-registration to renew, a ban on all short-term rentals, joint owner-tenant liability for common-area damage, and a required tenant registration before move-in. Some owners dispute the board's authority to impose them. Mediation is set for November 17, 2026.
What are the retaliation and discrimination allegations?
Landlord A.J. Steigman says he received five violations he believes are retaliatory, which the master board denies. A tenant, Latesha Cobb, says she filed a HUD complaint over an August 2026 incident she calls racially motivated. These are allegations and a pending complaint, not legal findings.
Who is A.J. Steigman?
He is a real estate broker who, with his partner, owns 17 properties at Heron Bay and has become one of the most vocal owners in the dispute. He appeared on the Discover South Florida Podcast to share his account, so his statements reflect his side of the contested story.
Can an HOA rental dispute affect home values?
Experts told The Real Deal that most small HOA issues do not, and any effect can take 6 to 18 months to show. The clearer risk is a rule that limits renting, which can shrink the buyer pool, plus reputational effects if a dispute stays in the public eye.
Local Help for Buyers and Investors in Coral Springs and Parkland
If you are buying, selling, or investing in Coral Springs, Parkland, or Coconut Creek, it helps to work with an experienced team that can assess HOA rules and rental restrictions closely. Reach out to The Mastropieri Group, Realtors®. For practical, hands-on support across Broward County, call (954) 710-6504. You can also browse current homes for sale in Coral Springs or compare nearby options in our look at Coral Springs versus Parkland.
Editor's note: Discover South Florida takes no side in this dispute; the accounts and allegations referenced here are attributed to their sources.
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