Assessment and Fees — Barefoot Bay, Florida

The Barefoot Bay annual assessment for FY27, which runs from October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027, is $1,028.18 per lot, paid to the Barefoot Bay Recreation District through the Brevard County property tax bill.

The district's FY27 fee schedule lists the line as Assessment Fee (Collected with Property Taxes) at $1,028.18, with no sales tax (BBRD FY27 Fees), and the FY27 Adopted Budget, approved by the Board of Trustees on June 23, 2026, states that the General Fund budget is based on an assessment rate of $1,028.18 per year per lot (BBRD FY27 Adopted Budget). The prior year's figure was $1,001.17: the FY26 fee schedule lists the 2025 Assessment Fee at $1,001.17 (BBRD FY26 Fees). The FY27 increase per Barefoot Bay lot is $27.01 ($1,028.18 minus $1,001.17).

The assessment is not a homeowners association due. The Barefoot Bay Recreation District FAQ says Barefoot Bay does not have a Homeowner's Association and that the yearly assessment fee is paid through a resident's property taxes (BBRD FAQs). The district's Fee Schedules page traces both the assessment and the user fees to the BBRD Charter (Article 4), which tasks the Board of Trustees to levy a Special Assessment and to establish, charge and collect fees for admission to or use of recreational facilities (BBRD Fee Schedules).

Florida law makes the Barefoot Bay assessment a flat special assessment, the same dollar amount on every improved lot, rather than a tax based on a home's value.

Section 418.304 of the Florida Statutes lets a mobile home park recreation district such as Barefoot Bay levy a recreation district tax against all improved residential parcels, and it says the district assessment shall not be an ad valorem tax, but shall be a special assessment assessed equally against all improved residential parcels (Section 418.304, Florida Statutes). For this purpose an improved residential parcel is a platted lot on which a mobile home may be erected, so a Barefoot Bay lot owes the same amount whether it holds a new double-wide or an older single-wide.

The calendar is fixed by statute. The Barefoot Bay trustees must adopt an itemized budget by July 1 and, on or before July 30 of each year, fix the amount of the assessment for the next year by resolution, after a public hearing advertised in a county newspaper at least 21 days ahead. The FY26 budget was adopted on June 24, 2025 (BBRD FY26 Adopted Budget), and the FY27 budget on June 23, 2026, both inside that window.

The money is the district's main income. District Assessment Fee revenue in the FY27 budget is $4,997,983, against $4,866,687 adopted for FY26 and $4,731,553 actually collected in FY25 (BBRD FY27 budget, revenue detail). Total FY27 revenues and sources for the Barefoot Bay Recreation District are $9,595,784, including a $500,000 draw on the beginning fund balance (revenue detail), with most of the rest coming from food and beverage, golf, recreation, vehicle storage and the shopping center (BBRD FY27 budget summary).

Barefoot Bay owners pay the assessment once a year with the Brevard County tax bill, so it earns the same early payment discounts and follows the same delinquency rules as county property taxes.

The district switched to the tax bill in 2009. Its policy manual records that effective October 1, 2009, the District shall collect its assessment via the uniform method for the levy, collection, and enforcement of non-ad valorem assessments pursuant to Sec. 197.3632, Florida Statutes (BBRD Policy Manual, page 8). The same manual still describes the older monthly billing, with a $10.00 monthly delinquent fee, a demand letter at 60 days past due and a recorded lien if there is no response within 10 days of that letter, for accounts that were already delinquent when the change was made.

On the tax bill the Barefoot Bay assessment is treated like the county taxes beside it. Florida law states that non-ad valorem assessments collected by the uniform method are subject to all collection provisions of Chapter 197, including discount for early payment, prepayment by installment method, deferred payment, penalty for delinquent payment, and issuance and sale of tax certificates and tax deeds for nonpayment (Section 197.3632, Florida Statutes). The discounts are 4 percent in the month of November, then 3 percent in December, 2 percent in January and 1 percent in February (Section 197.162, Florida Statutes). Section 418.304 adds that the assessment is a lien on each Barefoot Bay lot until paid.

A Barefoot Bay buyer pays a one-time Social Membership Fee at closing, $1,819.00 including sales tax under the FY27 schedule, which covers the first two owners on the deed and issues their amenity badges.

The FY27 schedule lists the Social Membership Fee at $1,700.00 plus $119.00 sales tax, an Additional Property Owner on Deed charge of $750.00 plus $52.50 tax, and an Additional Resident Living with Homeowners charge of $520.00 plus $36.40 tax (BBRD FY27 Fees). The FY26 schedule had the Social Membership Fee at $1,500.00 plus $105.00 tax (BBRD FY26 Fees). The Barefoot Bay policy manual explains why every sale triggers it: the appropriate social membership fee plus sales tax is collected from each new owner each time the property changes hands (BBRD Policy Manual, page 8).

Not every deed change counts as a sale. The policy manual waives a new Property Owner Social Membership Fee when an owner places a Barefoot Bay lot in a trust for immediate family, adds or removes immediate family members on the deed, passes the lot to immediate family through probate or a life estate, or transfers it to family where no genuine sale has occurred (BBRD Policy Manual, pages 35 and 36). Immediate family means spouses, parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren and siblings, and a genuine sale is one where the owner keeps no interest and fair market value is paid (BBRD Policy Manual, page 36).

Beyond the assessment and the membership fee, Barefoot Bay households pay smaller registration fees for dependents, renters and caregivers under the FY27 schedule, all set by the district's Board of Trustees.

Owners who rent out a Barefoot Bay home trigger renter fees for their tenants. The FY27 schedule charges each adult renter $40.00 a month, $105.00 a quarter or $360.00 a year, each plus sales tax, and each renter dependent $10.00 a month or $35.00 a year plus tax; a refundable $25.00 beach and pier key is issued to renters (BBRD FY27 Fees). Renters with a lease of less than 30 days are not issued a renter's badge and must buy guest passes instead (BBRD Policy Manual, page 36).

Household changes carry small fees too. The Barefoot Bay policy manual charges a $35.00 administrative fee plus tax for any change to the second person on a membership, $35.00 plus tax per registered dependent, nothing for a disabled dependent, and $44.00 plus tax for a caregiver badge pair (BBRD Policy Manual, page 36). The FY27 fee sheet also warns that fees are doubled when no badge is present, which matters for owners buying guest passes at the pools without a current Barefoot Bay badge.

Before a Barefoot Bay closing, an estoppel is requested from the district's Finance office; it is free and is returned within 24 business hours.

The district's estoppel page asks that the form be emailed at least a week before, but no more than 30 days before, the anticipated closing date, says completed requests are returned within 24 business hours of receipt, and states that there is currently no charge for estoppel preparation (BBRD Estoppel Information). At closing the buyer owes the Social Membership Fee in addition to any balance that may be owed by the Seller, a rule stated on the Barefoot Bay estoppel page itself.

Owners moving within Barefoot Bay can get the fee back. The estoppel page allows a refund of the one-time Social Membership Fee when both the old and new homes are the owner's primary residence in Barefoot Bay, the new home is bought within 18 months of selling the old one, and the refund application, with proof of payment on both purchases, is filed within 18 months of the new purchase.

Smaller charges continue after closing. Picture badges must be renewed every year to use district facilities, and replacement badges cost $23.00 (BBRD Policy Manual, page 36). Card payments carry a convenience fee that rose to 2 percent on October 1, 2025 and up to 3 percent on October 1, 2026, while cash and checks carry none (BBRD Policy Manual, pages 7 and 8).

Last verified: October 13, 2026, on the Barefoot Bay Recreation District website, against the FY27 fee schedule, FY27 budget and estoppel page.