Florida Law Bans Rent Control Statewide

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed SB 102 bill at the end of March, providing final approval for a new law that would prohibit rent control statewide, in addition to other measures.

According to an article published by Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, the bill, known as the “Live Local Act,” is intended to ease the state’s rising housing prices and lack of affordable housing by doubling “[funding] housing and rental programs, [providing] incentives for investment in affordable housing and [encouraging] mixed-use developments in struggling commercial areas.”

“But the new law (SB 102) has drawn criticism from some groups because it will bar local rent controls and pre-empt local government rules on zoning, density and building heights in certain circumstances,” according to the article. “Among other things, the bill will create tax exemptions for developments that set aside at least 70 units for affordable housing and will speed permits and development orders for affordable-housing projects.”

SB 102 includes $711 million for housing programs, including “$252 million for the longstanding State Housing Initiatives Partnership, or SHIP, program; $150 million a year to the State Apartment Incentive Loan, or SAIL, program; and an additional $100 million for the Hometown Heroes program, which is designed to help teachers, health-care workers and police officers buy homes.”

Reason magazine also picked up the news of the bill’s signing, noting that it’s hard to predict how strictly the new state law will override local powers. “Requiring that 40 percent of units be below-market-rate units is quite high. But a 120 percent AMI income threshold allows for much higher rents than most inclusionary zoning policies, which typically require housing be affordable for those making 80 percent or less of the AMI,” writes Christian Brischgi for Reason.

More news coverage is also available from Click Orlando. WTSP explained the great rent control debate—some economists argue that rent control contributes to rising rents in the long run—a few days after the law was signed.