• The Florida House of Representatives has passed the “Live Local Act” bill, aimed at addressing the state’s ongoing affordable housing crisis.
• The bill provides incentives to private developers to construct affordable housing units for low-to-moderate-income workers in the area where they work.
• The legislation pre-empts local-government rules on zoning, density, and building heights in certain circumstances.

The Florida House of Representatives passed SB 102, referred to as the “Live Local Act,” on Friday, enacting measures in an attempt to tackle the state’s ongoing affordable housing crisis.

The bill, introduced by Sen. Alexis Calatayud, aims to provide incentives to private developers to construct affordable housing units for low-to-moderate-income workers in the area where they work. The legislation served as a top priority for Senate President Kathleen Passidomo and received bipartisan support.

The legislation also pre-empts local-government rules on zoning, density, and building heights in certain circumstances. It would also create tax exemptions for developments that set aside at least 70 units for affordable housing, speed permits, and development orders for affordable housing projects, and bar local rent controls.

“Floridians are ready to [Live Local] and to spend less time commuting and more time raising their families in the heart of the communities they serve,” said Passidomo upon the bill’s House passage. 

The bill appropriates a total of $252 million to the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program and $259 million, including $150 million in new recurring funds, to the State Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL) program.

The SAIL Program provides low-interest loans on a competitive basis to multifamily affordable housing developers, and the bill directs the additional funds to be used for projects focusing on mixed-use development, urban infill, or developments near military installations in Florida.

The bill also incentivizes the construction of new projects near existing workforce housing units to be built via the restoration and refurbishing of older rental units.

As the bill now heads to the desk of Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Sadowsky Coalition, a collection of more than 40 statewide housing organizations, praised the measure, referring to it as one of the most important pieces of state legislation for housing.

“The coalition is excited to see the Live Local Act head to the Governor’s desk for his consideration,” said Mark Hendrickson, Facilitator of the Sadowski Coalition. “Gov. Ron DeSantis has long been a supporter of affordable and attainable housing, and we are hopeful that he will again be a strong advocate of housing and sign this transformative legislation.”

The legislation was drafted as data from the Shimberg Center for Housing Studies at the University of Florida indicated that the state has 825,990 low-income, cost-burdened renters, yet rental availability, particularly the supply of new affordable rental units remains low.