OPINION

Florida lawmakers need to stop diverting money intended for affordable housing

June Girard
Guest columnist

“Caution: Alachua County under construction.” That’s how I feel driving around southwest Gainesville. 

Florida is one of the least affordable places to live in the country. Home prices and rents are increasing because so many people are moving here. Big demand is fueling construction in Alachua County, but we have a low supply of affordable housing. 

Meanwhile, Floridians who rent are being priced out of their homes by financial service firms from the Northeast relocating well-paid workers here, retirees coming to Florida and the lack of housing. Housing affordability fell 29% from March 2021 to 2022, the sharpest decline on record, according to the National Association of Realtors. For the average buyer who puts 20% down, the monthly payment for that mortgage is 44% higher than last year.

Construction crews work on several apartment buildings being built off SW 17th Road and Tower Road near the attached to the Grand Oaks Subdivision in Gainesville in October.

In 1992, the William E. Sadowski Affordable Housing Act created a dedicated source of revenue for housing from a portion of documentary stamp taxes on the transfer of real estate. This legislation provided for a flexible but accountable framework for affordable housing programs to operate. The dedicated revenue went to the affordable housing trust fund, which began in 1995.

In 2005 the Legislature restricted the amount of revenue that went into the housing trust fund to $243 million a year, but did allow for a small increase over time. The 2007 Legislature removed the cap, creating a new annual requirement that the first $75 million of documentary revenue be swept into the State Economic Enhancement and Development Trust Fund.

The Sadowski Act funds had supported homeless housing programs and a number of state and local programs. But Florida lawmakers have been “sweeping” the state’s affordable housing fund to pay for other budget items for the past 18 years.

The lack of affordable housing in Alachua County for middle- and lower-income Floridians is severely hurting teachers, police officers, nurses and Florida’s lower-paid hospitality, retail and restaurant workers. Close to 900,000 Floridians pay more than 50% of their income for housing.

Our state legislators are no help. Instead of legislation that would cap rental price increases, they are considering measures to offer tax breaks for developers who build affordable homes and to banks that finance them. They “sweep” the funds from those allocated to affordable housing, diminishing the value of all assistance programs in Florida. So, as we prepare for elections, you may want to ask the candidates for state office if they approve of sweeping dedicated funds to pay for other projects.

The Florida House of Representatives meets at the Capitol building on Nov. 15.

What else can be done to ease this housing crisis? One proposal would be to cap rental price increases, another proposal would be to make it illegal for the legislators to steal (sweep) the Sadowski fund and allow it to accomplish what it was intended to do. Another suggestion is that our legislators enact statutory consumer protections against price gouging.  

Will you let your state legislative candidates know that you want them to stop diverting money from the Sadowski fund to pay for new or other programs? In 2021, about $423 million should have been deposited in state and local housing trust funds. Florida legislators are stealing from the state’s affordable housing fund while our need for affordable housing options grows.   

June Girard is a former columnist for the Island Navigator in the Florida Keys who lives in Gainesville.

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