ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Democratic Sen. Randolph Bracy, who is running for U.S. House District 10, hosted a roundtable discussion Friday with landlords and renters about rent costs amid Central Florida’s housing crisis.
“At my last apartment, they raised my rent like 23%. I mean, I ended up moving,” one renter said.
Bracy said he hopes they can find common ground and solutions to control skyrocketing rental prices.
[TRENDING: Is it illegal in Florida to back into a parking space? | DeSantis targets businesses, companies ‘imposing woke ideology on the economy’ | Become a News 6 Insider (it’s free!)]
“I think both sides weigh in on the equation,” Bracy said. “I think they have an impact on what we’re seeing come out of the county.”
Although surging rent prices pose a problem for tenants in Orange County, Bracy said landlords and developers also have concerns.
“I have also heard from developers that they’re having trouble paying the higher property tax rates. That’s why they’re increasing prices, and so I think it’s good to have a conversation to understand both sides so we can really come up with some real solutions,” Bracy said.
“If there is some type of reduction or incentive for property tax for landlords, that would be great,” another renter said.
This week, the Orange County Commission passed a new rental notice ordinance. It requires landlords to give a 60-day written notice for rent increases exceeding 5%.
Bracy said it falls short of directly addressing increasing rents.
“I think there needs to continue to [be a] conversation with the commissioners because I think there is more to do, and so hopefully, those conversations can result in something else other than what was passed,” Bracy said.
A consultant company hired by Orange County stated earlier this month that many of the rent issues plaguing Central Florida residents are beyond the ability of the county to fix.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: