TALLAHASSEE, FL – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 102, otherwise known as the Live Local Act, into law on Wednesday, just days after the legislation passed in the state House of Representatives. The bill provides $711 million for affordable housing programs as well as major tax incentives for developers of such properties, with the goal being to address the skyrocketing cost of housing in Florida – and the financial distress it has caused local residents – in recent years.
Aside from hundreds of millions of dollars being earmarked for affordable housing, the Live Local Act also will circumvent zoning and density and height requirements established by local municipalities for affordable housing projects in areas zoned for commercial or mixed-use development. In addition, it also takes away the ability for local governments to enact rent control measures, something that had only been possible in the past when a housing emergency declaration had been made.
The law will now require municipalities throughout Florida to allow multifamily or mixed-use residential projects that allocate a minimum of 40 percent of its residential units for affordable housing for at least 30 years. Also, the $711 million that the act provides will go a long way to restarting multiple affordable housing projects that have stalled due to lack of funding.
Experts are noting that the new law eases restrictions that developers of affordable housing mixed-use projects had previously been forced to contend with, and it is expected that many of them will take advantage of the Live Local Act to step up construction projects of those properties.
Reports indicate that Florida, particularly in its southern regions, became one of the least affordable housing markets in the United States in 2022, as the prices of home and rent skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly due to out-of-state transplants during that period opting to make the Sunshine State their new home.
Florida Gulf Residential specializes in the areas of Sarasota, Siesta Key, Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch, Longboat Key, Venice, Palmer Ranch, Osprey, Anna Maria Island and other Gulf Coast communities. Feel free to give us a call at (941) 304-1975 so we can answer any questions you may have.
Christopher Boyle is an investigative journalist for SEARCHEN NETWORKS® and reports for independent news and media organizations in the United States. Christopher helps keep a keen-eye on what’s happening on the West Coast of Florida on behalf of FLORIDA GULF RESIDENTIAL – Your Real Estate Expert for Sarasota and Surrounding Areas.
