SANFORD, Fla. – With rent prices soaring across the state, the city of Sanford is looking at ways to help families struggling to find housing options stay afloat. An agenda for a work session Monday afternoon shows city commissioners are discussing a rental increase ordinance.
Mayor Art Woodruff tells News 6 there is no official proposal that has been drawn up as of now, but hopes commissioners will make a decision at Monday’s meeting about whether there should be one.
Elton Lassiter, who lives in Sanford and works with the group Florida Rising, says he’s worked with the city before to find solutions for families struggling to stay afloat. We asked what a rental increase ordinance could look like.
“It’s probably going to be something with a 60-to-90-day notice of rent increase,” said Lassiter. “That would give people a couple of months to find a new place and get themselves in a position to move.”
Lassiter says his rent went up $400 last year, and it will be going up by another $500 in April. He calls the rent hikes “outrageous.”
[TRENDING: 17-year-old found shot to death in Orange County | Palm Bay councilman Pete Filiberto accused of DUI, carrying cocaine in shoe | Brevard community rallies behind family whose son played in Super Bowl | Become a News 6 Insider]
“People are struggling to find safe environments to live in,” said Lassiter. “Part of the problem is the rent is being increased so high in order to apply for these places now we wouldn’t even qualify.”
Rent.com studies the trends and their numbers put the average rent on a one-bedroom in Sanford up 14% in the last year. Compare that to up 42% in nearby Oviedo, and up 1% in Orlando.
Commissioners in Orange County put a rent control ordinance on the ballot in November, but it’s since been locked in legal limbo. The proposal would enact measures limiting how much landlords and developers will be able to raise rents over the course of one year, and the rent-hike cap would be set at the same percentage as the Consumer Price Index.
A lawsuit filed in September by the Florida Apartment Association and the Florida Association of Realtors sought to invalidate the ballot measure.
Critics say rent control may seem effective, but it’s only a surface-level solution. They believe it can create more scarcity in the market because developers or landlords who can’t earn enough of a profit by sell, demolish, or convert their rental properties.
People like Lassiter view a rental increase ordinance as a small step in terms of what is needed to help families in Sanford and across Central Florida.
“If they’re putting in place an ordinance that will give people more time to find a new place, that’s definitely a plus, but what really is needed is a complete tenant bill of rights and some protections for tenants when it comes to rent increase period.”
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: