Affording to Live Local
Florida lawmakers passed the Live Local Act in 2023 in response to the state’s affordable housing crisis.
The law incentives private-sector builders to by offering a 75% tax exemption for developers who keep units affordable for people earning 80% to 120% of the area median income (AMI).
Supporters of the law have touted Live Local as a way to increase affordable housing options for the state’s workforce.
However, several Central Florida municipalities have opted out of the Live Local Act, criticizing the measurement as being “pro-developer.”
A recent report by the Florida Policy Institute finds that meeting the AMI requirement to rent a unit under Live Local becomes more unaffordable for public service workers as household size increases.
“It quickly becomes unaffordable for teachers, law enforcement officers, paramedics and firefighters, especially for paramedics and firefighters. There are many counties where even just a one person household in one of those jobs is unaffordable at the workforce housing AMI levels,” said Cicely Hodges, Housing and Community Development Policy Analyst at the Florida Policy Institute.
For example, in Orange County, the Florida Policy Institute report finds the average salary of a teacher is $55,860 but the requirement to reach the county’s AMI requirement for a two person household is $61,760. Hodges said that’s unaffordable for someone who is a single parent or caring for an adult dependent.
According to the report, in Central Florida, Brevard County is among the top three counties that are the least affordable for law enforcement officers, educators, firefighters, and EMTs/paramedics.
Housing Cost Burden
Housing is considered affordable when a person spends no more than 30% of their income on either rent or mortgage payments, according to the Florida Housing Coalition.
A household is cost-burden when it spends more than 30% of its income on housing and severely cost-burdened when it spends 50%.
“For Lake County, people paying over 30% of their income is almost 32% of those making 60 to 80% of the area median income. Orange County is almost 46% cost burdened. Osceola, almost 41% are cost burdened, and Seminole, almost 45% are cost burdened,” said Hodges.
She said that shows that many in Central Florida are in search for affordable housing, but developers often don’t build at a lower AMI level, in part, because of property insurance costs.
“A 30% AMI focused unit with the cost of property insurance, it just kind of ends up at a deficit at the end of the day, because property insurance is so expensive,” said Hodges. “Because the actual rent that you could charge on one of those units is so low you're not even hitting what you pay insurance a lot of the time.”
Hopes for the new year
There has been some speculation about introducing a bill in the 2025 legislative session for affordable housing at 50% area median income, according to Hodges.
“No bills have gone up announcing that language, but that would be my hope,” she said.
Hodges believes modifying the language in the Live Local Act to include the lower AMI threshold would be best.
The 2025 legislative session begins March 4.
