Sadowski Affiliates Call to Action
Sadowski Affiliates newsletter published to subscribers, June 2019
Florida Governor expected to receive budget this Friday, June 14, to make line item veto decisions the week of June 17. Call to action to urge the Governor to line item veto the sweep of Sadowski funds. Newsletter...
South Florida One Of The Highest Areas For Down Payments
South Florida Sun Sentinel, by Randy Roguski
There are worse places to save for a house than in South Florida, but not many. You will need 19 years to save up the down payment for a typical house here, according to a new study by Unison, a home financing company. More...
Affordable Housing Needs Assessment Update
As part of its adopted Work Program, the Broward Housing Council sponsors and supports assessments of local and regional affordable housing needs and programs to identify needs, costs and trends and to develop potential pilot programs. In September 2018, the Broward County contracted with The Metro Center at Florida International University to update the Broward County Affordable Housing Needs Assessment (2014). The Broward Housing Council recommended forwarding the updated Needs Assessment to the Board of County Commissioners, who accepted it at their May 7, 2019 meeting. The report’s Key Findings indicate that 58% of renters are cost burdened and 87% of households cannot afford the median sales price of $350,000. Read the full report here.
BrowardNEXT 2.0 Adopted by County Commission On March 28, 2019, the Board of County Commissioners adopted BrowardNEXT 2.0, the County’s updated Land Use and Comprehensive Plan. The County worked with community members and municipalities to ensure the plans reflect current and anticipated growth and priorities. These priorities address a wide range of issues including transportation, affordable housing, climate change and economic development. The new plan became effective May 11, 2019.
2019 Rental Market Study Released
The Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC) recently released the 2019 Rental Market Study, an annual study prepared by the Shimberg Center for Housing Studies (University of Florida). A review of statewide trends shows that Broward and Miami-Dade Counties have highest number of low income, cost burdened households in the state (households earning up to 60% AMI and paying 40% or more of income on monthly rent). Between 2000-2017, Florida’s rental housing stock increased by 674,000 units; however, it lost about 44,000 units renting for $1,000 or less. The full report is available on the FHFC website.
Landlord Recruitment Initiative UnderwayThe Broward Housing Council’s Work Program addresses homelessness by supporting the Broward County Homeless Continuum of Care’s (CoC) programs and initiatives. The Homeless Initiative Partnership, who implements the CoC Board’s responsibilities, has announced the implementation of a new Landlord Recruitment Initiative. The program’s goal is to match Broward County landlords who have homes to rent, with individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness. Rent is guaranteed by local government, state and federally funded programs. More...The Broward Housing Council’s Work Program addresses homelessness by supporting the Broward County Homeless Continuum of Care’s (CoC) programs and initiatives. The Homeless Initiative Partnership, who implements the CoC Board’s responsibilities, has announced the implementation of a new Landlord Recruitment Initiative. The program’s goal is to match Broward County landlords who have homes to rent, with individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness. Rent is guaranteed by local government, state and federally funded programs. More...
Affordable Housing Toolkit for Counties Now Available
Although housing affordability is a shared priority nationwide, the available options to promote housing affordability vary between counties due to differences in jurisdiction and authority under state constitutions and statutes. On March 1, the National Association of Counties (NACo) released its Affordable Housing Toolkit for Counties which addresses housing affordability at the county level, including issues such as funding sources, zoning/land use, partnerships and advocacy. The toolkit is the culmination of a series of reports on housing affordability developed over the past year, and ties together resources, key takeaways and county examples from NACo's four previous reports. More…
United Way Releases 2018 ALICE Report
The United Way ALICE Project provides communities with research-based information to create innovative solutions for their struggling populations, a.k.a. Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. ALICE is the number of households who do not earn enough to afford basic necessities, including affordable housing, at the state and county levels. Florida is one of 18 states participating in this project.
ALICE 2018 Report: Florida | ALICE in Broward County
Florida Legislative Session 2019: Proposed Housing Legislation
The Regular Session of the Florida legislature convened on March 5, 2019. The Broward Housing Council's 2019 Work Program includes advocating for legislative change that creates and/or retains funding for affordable housing initiatives; supports affordable and workforce housing programs; and reduces the gap between household income and housing costs. Broward Housing Council members have identified the following proposed legislation as items of interest:
SB 70: State Funds. Prevents future sweeps from the State's Affordable Housing Trust Funds, including the Sadowski Trust Fund. Since 2003, the governor has proposed sweeping funds into general revenues for non-housing related purposes. Over $2 billion of Sadowski Trust Fund dollars has been swept since the Trust Fund's inception in 1992. (effective July 1, 2019)
SB 250: Pilot State Workforce Housing Tax Credit. Creates new State Workforce Housing Tax Credit Program to be administered by the Florida Housing Finance Corporation who will determine project eligibility and award the credits. This is a 10-year stream of tax credits awarded to an eligible workforce housing development that rent restricts (not to exceed 30% of income) at least 60% of new units per building. (effective July 1, 2019)
SB 350: Impact Fees. Prohibits local governments from charging impact fees for the development or construction of affordable housing. (effective July 1, 2019)
HB 353: Housing Trust Funds. Establishes the State Housing Trust Fund which will be administered and monitored by the Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC) on behalf of the Department of Economic Opportunity. Agencies receiving funds from the State Housing Trust Fund and/or Local Government Housing Trust Fund must provide a report to the Legislature, at the end of the fiscal year, specifically stating how the funds were spent. Any funds appropriated from a Housing Trust Fund for other uses must be repaid within 5 years following the date of appropriation. (effective July 1, 2019)
HB 481: Opportunity Zones. Replaces Florida Enterprise Act with the Florida Opportunity Act. The bill also defines an "Opportunity Zone" and provides mechanisms for designated Opportunity Zones to receive specified State incentives. (effective July 1, 2019)
SB 568: Assessment of Property. Authorizes local government to enter into agreements with certain property owners to recorded specified restrictive covenants over their properties related to affordable housing. Said covenants shall run with the land for at least 20 years and state that the property will be used to provide affordable to extremely low income, very low income, low income or moderate income persons and/or workforce housing; Each covenant shall be recorded in the public records of the County where the property is located. (effective July 1, 2019)
SB 842: County Funding for Affordable Housing. Authorizes the governing authority of each county to levy a discretionary surtax on documents for the purpose of establishing and financing a local Affordable Housing Trust Fund. In November 2018, Broward County voters approved a Charter amendment creating an Affordable Housing Trust Fund to assist in the in the financing of construction, rehabilitation or purchasing of housing for low to moderate income families. (effective July 1, 2019)
SB 1314: Affordable Housing Tax Reductions. Provides affordable housing property reductions for certain rental housing projects receiving affordable housing bonds from a housing finance authority. Eligible projects may receive a 4% to 9% low income tax credit from the Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC) for affordable, elderly and/or workforce housing projects meeting specific criteria, including population and location requirements, that has not received other affordable housing property exemptions or FHFC funds. The property owner must record a rent restriction covenant upon the property and submit an annual report to the property appraiser demonstrating compliance with the qualification criteria. (effective July 1, 2019)
SB 1730: Growth Management. Preempts local governments from using certain tools to provide affordable housing, such as setting affordable price points for new home construction or requiring developers set aside land or pay a fee to provide off-site affordable housing; sets new standards on local government imposition of impacts fees; and sets time limits on local government consideration of development applications. (upon becoming a law)
HB 2247: Homeless Collaborative of Broward County – Rapid Rehousing. Provides an appropriation of $500,000 to fund this program for FY 19-20. The Rapid Rehousing Program helps families quickly transition from emergency shelter to stable housing, with ongoing case management services for up to a year after placement. (effective July 1, 2019)
