DeSantis must take bold action on housing security
Housing security is essential not only to slow the spread of COVID-19, but to create stability for our communities and ensure healthy families for generations to come.
No Floridian should face eviction or foreclosure as a result of failure to pay due to this pandemic. However, without bold and immediate action by Gov. Ron DeSantis, hundreds of thousands of Floridians will be in this exact position, facing homelessness when they should be maintaining shelter and safety at home.
Our society, at every level, is facing extreme economic hardships caused by the unprecedented impact of the current public health crisis. Well before COVID-19, Floridians were already facing an affordable housing crisis. Our legislative office serves countless constituents living paycheck-to-paycheck, unable to find an affordable place to live and too often facing the fear of eviction every single month with, or without, a pandemic.
According to a 2019 study by the University of Florida’s Shimberg Center for Housing Studies, 795,603 low-income households in Florida pay more than
40% of income towards rent, and though the state added hundreds of thousands of rental units from 2000 to 2017, we lost units renting for $1,000 or less.
The Orlando area reflects similar troubling trends; 98,654 low-income households pay more than 40% of income for rent and between 2000-2017, only added 10,672 units with rents below $1,000. Tourism and hospitality are our main employers, critical yet low-wage industries shut down by this pandemic for the foreseeable future.
That’s why I fought hard to ensure we fully funded the Sadowski Affordable Housing Trust Fund this legislative session, a tremendous bipartisan victory, and why I championed several tenants rights bills and advocated tirelessly for our manufactured-home owners.
It’s why I have given away my state salary during the coronavirus crisis to pay for people’s hotel rooms; it’s why I’ve held management companies accountable when they’ve tried to increase rent; it’s why I’ve called landlords and front desks asking that families and individuals be given grace before being kicked out.
Everyone needs a place to lay their head, free from fear.
In a time when social distancing, quarantine, and isolation are key to keeping us safe, we must ensure housing security for all Floridians. We have an opportunity now to address the housing crisis and build a brighter future for us all. But we can only achieve this with bold action by Gov. DeSantis.
Gov. DeSantis’ initial eviction moratorium came way too late. Issued April 2, after two weeks of furloughs and lost wages, our constituents needed that assurance before monthly bills were due. He also failed to include commercial tenants, leaving out our small businesses.
On Wednesday, the governor extended the eviction moratorium beyond its May 17 expiration to June 2. This is good, but not good enough.
Rent and mortgage, along with delayed payments, will still be due at the beginning of next month. For community members who have been laid off and unable to access a criminally broken unemployment system or federal relief, paying back rent and mortgage due will be impossible. Any eviction and foreclosure moratorium should be expanded to also protect small businesses, and extended for the duration of this state of emergency, plus time for recovery.
We need to give Floridians a chance to get back on their feet before they face evictions and foreclosures. When federal funds are not enough or delayed, we need state funds redirected to local direct assistance programs for tenants, and to landlords to offer relief for tenants.
We need the state to negotiate with banks to ensure forbearance for all mortgage holders, including homeowners and landlords. We need to house the homeless in motels and hotels, and release college students from leases they no longer need.
We need to protect tenants and restore home rule by suspending, and ultimately repealing anti-tenant statutes along with housing preemption laws that handcuff our local governments from passing local policies on rent stabilization ordinance and affordability.
Gov. DeSantis has the authority to take these bold actions to keep Floridians in their homes, and we have seen governors across the country already adopt these proposals. What are we waiting for?