South Florida Renters Struggle To Find Affordable Housing

Lauren Peace describes the plight of renters in Florida who face rising rents and housing instability. Profiling several people experiencing or living on the edge of homelessness, Peace writes that as the Tampa Bay area drew more workers, "increases in cost of living coupled with stagnant wages have pushed those who once had padding closer and closer to the edge." According to Peace, "In 2021, Tampa Bay experienced the highest rent increase of any metro in the nation, at 24 percent." The rising cost of housing is now placing a broader part of the population at risk for becoming unhoused:

Homelessness today looks a lot different than it did five years ago, said Alexia Morrison, president of Reach St. Pete, a nonprofit that works with people struggling to afford housing.

It’s single people and families whose jobs pay little. It’s people who, for the first time, can’t make rent. It’s motels, Airbnbs, a roof 'just barely' over one’s head.

Peace describes one building where tenants abruptly received notices to vacate after the owner made the decision to sell and demolish it, throwing many of its low-income residents into a highly competitive housing market where affordable housing is scarce. The story illustrates the hardships faced by households that are struggling to find stable, affordable housing in Tampa Bay and cities around the country.