affordable housing and rents just took a major hit here (Miami: renting, high crime)

[wondermint2]

More than 1.5 million Florida renters are about to lose rights

https://jasongarcia.substack.com/p/m...lorida-renters

More than 1.5 million renters across Florida will lose important consumer-protection rights — unless Gov. Ron DeSantis takes action within the next 48 hours.

That’s the amount of time the Republican governor and presidential candidate has remaining to decide whether he will sign or veto a controversial bill that would dissolve local renter-protection laws in at least 30 communities around the state.

The sweeping legislation (House Bill 1417) was lobbied through Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature this spring by, among others, the Florida Apartment Association, a front group funded by apartment companies such as Camden Housing Trust and Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc.

All told, the bill is expected to undo local laws in at least 30 cities and counties that provide various rights to renters, from the right to two months’ warning before a rent increase to the right to pay with federal housing vouchers without fear of discrimination.

It would strip rights from renters in seven of Florida’s largest counties — including Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Orange, Hillsborough, Pinellas and Alachua — that together are home to nearly 1.5 million of the roughly 2.7 million renting households in Florida, according to data compiled by the Shimberg Center for Housing Studies at the University of Florida.

Thousands more renters living in cities beyond those counties — from Daytona Beach to Naples — would also lose local protections.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*The Florida House of Representatives finally released a copy of that list Tuesday, in response to a public-records request. See the full list here:

https://jasongarcia.substack.com/api...c6a7ce0806.pdf

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*Update:

Gov. DeSantis signs landlord-tenant bill

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/miami/ne...l-regulations/

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed a bill that will lead to state law overriding local regulations involving landlords and tenants.

The bill (HB 1417) was one of six measures that DeSantis signed Thursday from the 2023 legislative session, which ended May 5.

[wondermint2]

New Affordable Housing Units Come to North Tamiami Trail

For full article:

https://www.sarasotamagazine.com/hom...-tamiami-trail

A ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday welcomed 16 new affordable workforce housing units to University Row Apartments on North Tamiami Trail just north of the Sarasota County line. Waiting lists ensured the apartments were filled even before they were move-in ready.

“The need for affordable housing is at a fever pitch,” says Manatee County commissioner Mike Rahn, who was in attendance and represents the district where the multifamily apartments are located.

University Row Apartments is comprised of 100 studios and one-bedroom apartments within walking distance of the University of South Florida’s Sarasota campus and New College of Florida, and just one mile away from the Ringling College of Art and Design.

It’s part of the Vengroff legacy started by Mark’s father, the late Harvey Vengroff, which converts old buildings like motels, offices and schools into much-needed affordable housing. Its projects do not benefit from federal, state or local government affordability programs.

Rents are 60 to 70 percent of the area’s median income—for one person, that’s an annual income of $36,000 to $42,350; for a family of three, it’s $46,620 a year to $54,390. New units are $975 a month each, utilities included, and existing studios are $825 and utilities are also included. To qualify, all you need is a job. One Stop Housing’s other projects are priced similarly.

[wondermint2]

Gulfcoast Legal Services finds more help for Sarasota residents with housing issues

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/real...f7e91cfb&ei=41

In his two dozen years investigating investor fraud, Michael Fuchs has seen a lot of loss.

But what he’s witnessed in his few shorts weeks on Sarasota’s housing crisis has left him truly stunned.

“It hasn’t taken me long to realize how big the problem is here,” Fuchs said of residents’ dire circumstances.

Fuchs, 64, is the new pro bono attorney focused on housing issues for Gulfcoast Legal Services, which is located in the Venice offices of United Way of South Sarasota County.

Fuchs joined the legal aid agency in mid-June after receiving his Florida credentials, volunteering to assist the office as it handles a surge in eviction cases.

Now, after brushing up on Florida’s landlord-tenant laws, he will be spending at least two days a week helping residents facing rising rents and eviction as well as those enduring delays getting insurance checks related to Hurricane Ian.

So far, Fuchs said he has been struck by the region’s housing crisis and the severe impact on his fellow retirees. While in his previous work he dealt with victims of Ponzi schemes or investment fraud that wiped out huge sums of money or retirement savings, the plight of his current clients seems even worse.

[wondermint2]

Free backpack giveaway this month at Bradenton Church

https://www.snntv.com/story/49145539...adenton-church

Attention Bradenton parents: Christ Episcopal Church in Bradenton is holding its third annual backpack giveaway soon.

The church's goal is to give away at least 500 bags. Doors open at 11 a.m. and the giveaway lasts until 1 p.m. on July 15 at the church.

In a social media post, they're asking for help that day. They need volunteers to be in the parish hall no later than 10:30 a.m. that Saturday. At 1 p.m., the church needs a few people to help clean the area, mainly bringing chairs and tables from the courtyard back into the parish hall.

To volunteer or if you have questions, contact Pat Fraser at (941)-747-3709. Christ Episcopal Church in Bradenton is on 4030 Manatee Avenue West.

You can visit their website for more information as well:

https://cecb.church/backpack-giveaway.html

[Sunshine Rules]

From the affordable to the ridiculous......... record for most expensive condo sold in Sarasota at $11.15 MILLION:


https://www.yourobserver.com/news/20...lls-11-millon/

[Above Average Bear]

Originally Posted by Sunshine Rules

From the affordable to the ridiculous......... record for most expensive condo sold in Sarasota at $11.15 MILLION:


https://www.yourobserver.com/news/20...lls-11-millon/

What the cost to maintain this condo?

[motordavid]

^ Zillow sez ~ $4300 a month COA ...fwiw.

[wondermint2]

Venice adopts attainable housing incentives

https://www.yoursun.com/venice/news/...fef6b14de.html

The Venice city council has adopted an ordinance that gives property owners new options in adding to the city's attainable housing inventory.

The LDRs define housing as "attainable" housing costing less than 30% of household income.

[MOforthewin]

Originally Posted by motordavid

^ Zillow sez ~ $4300 a month COA ...fwiw.

11 million. You know what kind of HOUSE you could buy with that or even cheaper!

[wondermint2]

New State-Wide Affordable Housing Act Draws Doubts from Local Experts

For full article:

https://www.sarasotamagazine.com/hom...ct-legislation

In a place where many residents push back against increased density and heights when it comes to development, new state-wide legislation designed to spur the creation of much-needed affordable housing may not play out the way it’s intended.

In exchange for affordable housing units, under the Live Local Act (SB 102), developers could gain increased heights and densities, bypass zoning rules and speed up projects by skipping over the public comment portion of their project submissions to local government.

Under the bill, which went into effect July 1, the county and city must authorize multi-family and mixed-use residential developments in areas zoned for commercial, industrial or mixed-use if at least 40 percent of the units are affordable for at least 30 years and serve incomes up to 120 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). In the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota metropolitan statistical area, that amounts to an annual income of no more than $87,840 for a household of two and $109,680 for a family of four. At least 65 percent of the total square footage in mixed-use residential projects will have to be used for residential purposes.

The act’s new provisions may sound like a lot, but “I think it’s blown out of proportion,” says land use and zoning law attorney William Merrill III of Icard Merrill Attorneys & Counselors, who doubts it will pick up much steam in the current economy.

“None of my clients are going to go for it, because 40 percent of all units is a huge number, and restricting those rates for 30 years is a lot,” he continues. “The cost of construction nowadays has skyrocketed. Plus, market rates for rent are way below the AMI, especially within the city of Sarasota, where land values are high regardless of zoning.

“Once a project supersedes four stories, which a developer would most likely have to do to gain the tax exemptions based on creating 70 affordable units, they have to use concrete and substantial materials, which can double the cost of construction,” he says. Industry labor shortages are also an issue.

He adds that the Live Local Act recipe may make more sense in places like Charlotte and DeSoto counties, or rural areas where land costs less. To his point, in 2021, the Sarasota-North Port region topped a national snapshot of vacant land price hikes, and the market hasn’t since shifted much.

Jon Mast, CEO and lobbyist of the Manatee-Sarasota Building Industry Association, has similar doubts.

“I don’t know if anyone is jockeying for a position right now,” he says. “It’s going to frustrate local governments because it will allow residential projects to be in multiple zoning districts. It will also cause frustration for homeowners who don’t want more development.”

Mast expects local government officials and development watchdog groups to fight against some of the items in the Live Local Act. For now, City of Sarasota officials have declined to comment on the act as they work to unravel its new provisions.

In the case of building residential projects in commercial and industrial use zones, questions of infrastructure like water and sewer will have to be weighed.

“I’m an advocate for more affordable housing, which we’ve needed since before the Great Recession, but we still need commercial zones, and this has the potential to eat those up,” Mast says.

As an affordable housing developer, Mark Vengroff, managing partner of One Stop Housing, sees the benefits for people like him but has similar doubts about the new zoning provisions that allow residential projects in areas zoned for commercial and industrial use.