After Hurricane Damage, One Florida HOA Re-Writes Roofing Rules (After Discovering This)

If you’re a homeowner with a neighborhood HOA, perhaps you’ve experienced the frustration of trying to make smart upgrades to better protect your home, only to find out that your community’s CCRs don’t allow for it.

The good news is that more local HOAs are waking up to the fact that neighborhood rules need to be updated in the face of stricter insurance requirements and to prevent disasters from happening.

Take the case of an upscale, gated community near Orlando, Florida, where hurricanes and tropical storms are commonplace. Built in the early 2000s, the neighborhood’s HOA once mandated homeowners to replace their roofs with concrete tiles, which were the standard when the homes were built. However, those original roofs started to fail and crack because of the region’s extreme weather, and homeowners were clambering for better, longer-lasting options.

A gorgeous metal roof won over the hearts and minds of a Florida HOA, re-writing the rules for allowable roofs that better protect homes and the neighborhood for the long run

A squeaky wheel helped a neighborhood change…for the better

One homeowner led the charge to convince their HOA board to consider updating its rules to allow for the use of quality metal roofing, which offer great longevity, reliability, and excellent performance against extreme weather. Backed by 3rd party testing for wind uplift, hail and rain, and combined with a lifetime non-prorated warranty, metal offered the perfect roof solution for homes in the area. Plus, unlike other roofing materials, metal roofing with high performance coatings helps prevent unsightly algae and mildew in humid areas like Florida, making them exceptionally low maintenance.

Opting for a metal roof also was a smart financial alternative, providing the homeowners with a more cost-effective and energy efficient solution that delivers both durability and aesthetic appeal.

The roof that changed minds, and won over skeptics

The homeowners requested using True Nature Metal Roof Cedar Creek Shake Shingles by Vicwest in an Ebony finish, which masterfully captured the authentic look of traditional material and seamlessly blended with established neighborhood aesthetics.

The proposed new metal roof’s beautiful appearance, along with its low maintenance and curb appeal benefits, made it an easy decision for the HOA to approve. The board updated its rules to allow for the use of metal roofing as an option and since then, other neighbors have also decided to install metal roofs.

“We’re seeing an evolution where, for practicality and performance reasons, more local HOAs are allowing for metal roofing especially in hurricane, hailstorm and wildfire regions,” said Renee Ramey of MRA. “Once HOAs learn that metal also comes in a wide range of colors, patterns and shape that mimic a variety of architectural styles so closely that even the experts can’t tell the difference, it becomes a no-brainer as neighborhoods seek resilient building and re-roofing solutions.”

The Orlando home case represents such an excellent example of a how metal can be used as an alternative in a neighborhood with strict architectural requirements, it earned top honors in MRA’s Best Residential Metal Roofing Project competition in 2022.

The lesson, according to Ramey, is that it sometimes takes just one forward-thinking homeowner to help an entire neighborhood realize that longer lasting and better performing options can not only meet but exceed even the highest neighborhood standards.