Housing activists expressed anger and disapproval on Wednesday in response to a $711 million affordable housing package intended to address Florida’s affordable housing crisis. They claimed that the provision of the bill that forbids local governments from enacting rent controls will not help to solve the issue.
The “Live Local Act” (SB 102)—sponsored by Miami Republican Alexis Calatayud—offers a number of solutions to the state’s problem with affordable housing, but the clause that outlaws rent control in all cases infuriated constituents and advocates who spoke in favor of the measure at the Senate Community Affairs meeting.
Despite the criticism, the bipartisan committee unanimously approved the legislation.
“This is the future trajectory for what we believe is right for Floridians,” Calatayud said to the committee. “It will focus on offering successful, reachable, and affordable units.” Rent control is not the best way for Florida to meet the needs of its workforce for accessible, cheap housing; instead, the state should focus on a set of measures that are both forward-thinking and potentially among the most cutting-edge in the nation.
Public leaders and residents in Florida’s largest metro areas claim that the state’s rental prices have increased significantly over the previous two years, adding to the state’s rising cost of living.
Eileen Higgins, a commissioner for Miami-Dade County, applauded the legislative proposal and noted that it incorporates many of the measures Miami-Dade has already taken to address the problem. In order to retain middle-class workers like nurses and police officers in the area, the county has increased the income cap for workforce housing, according to the speaker, and she urged the bill’s author to do the same in the legislation. The current definition of “affordable” under the bill is income up to 120% of AMI, or around $94,000 for a family of four.
However, a number of other witnesses argued that the AMI should be decreased in order to expand eligibility to more people with lower incomes.
According to Letitia Harmon of the organization Florida Rising, “those who make 80% and less of AMI both are in the workforce and also have the biggest need for affordable housing units.”
The loss of the ability for local governments to forbid rent control measures was criticized by several speakers.
According to Kyle Mitchell, a veteran, “almost half of all renters in Jacksonville are cost burdened due of their rent, which means that they pay over 40% of their income on rent alone.” We don’t have enough housing, therefore that’s not why this is occurring. The reason it’s happening is that avaricious businesses and investors are acquiring them all and turning them into rentals.
In the event of an emergency, such as a hurricane, “those local leaders should have the option to do what their citizens want,” according to Jane West, the policy and planning director of the organization 1000 Friends of Florida.
While discussions about putting rent stabilization measures on the ballot for city councils and/or county commissions took place in several Florida communities last year, Orange County was the only local government to do so. Despite receiving 59% of the vote, the legislation has not yet been put into effect because organizations representing the real estate business are suing to overturn it.
According to Rich Templin, the Florida AFL-director CIO’s of politics and public affairs, “We represent 80,000 union members in Orange County.” This group of individuals is covered by collective bargaining agreements. Every day, they commute to work. Occasionally, two or three shifts per day. occasionally working two or three jobs in one day. They can’t get a place to live. Additionally, this needs to be done right away. In order to place this on the ballot, the county commission collaborated with many community stakeholders.
Sen. Jason Brodeur, a Republican from Central Florida, attacked the Orange County administration for the absence of affordable homes.
“In contrast to 65 other counties, Orange County only permits large-scale land use transmittal twice a year. Why are we artificially restricting development in Orange County but not elsewhere? ” Did he ask?
Brodeur continued by noting that, at least in Orange County, the solution to the housing crisis was pretty straightforward: as home supply increases, “all those profit margins that everyone is raving against would drop right back down to market levels.” Additionally, there will be a plentiful supply and it will be priced according to the market.
The bill was unanimously approved by the committee, but South Florida Democrat Lori Berman expressed persistent reservations over the removal of the rent control provision.
The Senate Appropriations Committee will now take up the bill. The legislation needs to be approved by both the House and Senate as a whole, and then it needs to be signed by Governor Ron DeSantis.