Miami-Dade mayor throws a bucket of cold water on rent control, maybe for good reason | Editorial

In South Florida’s housing crisis, rent control to some means salvation from landlords looking to squeeze as much profit from a hot real-estate market. To others, it’s akin to turning Miami into socialist Cuba, or — worse — New York City.

This is a perilous political issue for an elected official. And Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava — a progressive who declared a housing-affordability crisis in April — drew a clear line: Rent control is not a solution to our problems. At least not with the obstacles that state government puts in the way.

“So, rent control is not an easy fix for Miami-Dade County,” Levine Cava said Wednesday in an interview for the Herald Editorial Board’s Speaking of Miami series.

“Florida law makes it very difficult, if not impossible, to implement rent control and certainly creates susceptibility to lawsuits, as we’ve already seen in Orlando.”

A 1977 law sets a high bar for this kind of measure. It requires the county to establish that there is a housing emergency, backed up with evidence, and then pass an ordinance. After that, the question goes to voters, and it can only be approved a year at a time.

It’s hard to do it, but not impossible. Orange County, which includes Orlando, decided last month to let voters decide in November whether to impose a one-year, 9.8% cap on rent hikes. The Florida Association of Realtors and Florida Apartment Association filed a lawsuit to block the referendum, so its fate is unclear.

A few months ago, the Miami-Dade County Commission heard a proposal to study rent control. At least looking into it is not a bad idea given the stories we’ve heard of tenants facing rent hikes of 50% at times. But sponsor Kionne McGhee has withdrawn his proposal, Levine Cava said.

A needed but imperfect plan

Levine Cava is betting on a comprehensive approach that increases our housing supply, while offering immediate relief for those most in need. That’s wise and perhaps why she feels comfortable openly dismissing rent control.

In April, she announced the use of $13.4 million in federal funding for an emergency rental-assistance program. Most recently, she proposed the HOMES program. It would, among other things, expand rental assistance, provide homeowners help paying their mortgages, property insurance and related expenses, and offer financial aid for workforce and affordable housing projects.

The mayor’s $85 million plan hits on all aspects that have contributed to this crisis. For example, she wants to offer incentives to maintain older affordable homes so they aren’t razed to make way for the next luxury development.

She gets credit for not kicking the can down the road. But Levine Cava must first get approval from the County Commission, scheduled to vote on her plan on Sept. 20. Her proposal has cracks that have drawn opposition from housing advocates and at least one commissioner, Raquel Regalado, who spoke to the Herald Editorial Board. Regalado is among those who want the county to spend less and increase the mayor’s proposed property-tax break of 1% to at least 2%.

The HOMES plan would raise the income eligibility for assistance from $78,000 to $136,500 for a family of four. While inflation has eaten into the salaries of even those making six figures, there’s a legitimate question as to whether they need government help. The Greater Miami Housing Alliance wants more money to go toward lower-income Miamians and wrote in a letter to the mayor that providing subsidies to wealthier families is “unproven anywhere in the country.”

As the Herald reported, another sticky issue is a workforce-housing program that would give subsidies to landlords to lower rents for middle-class families. With a family income limit of $136,000, eligible landlords could charge as much as $3,000 for a two-bedroom apartment. Even in Miami’s overheated rental market, $3,000 is a lot. It begs the question: Why should taxpayers pay property owners to keep rents at market rate? Landlords would be banned from raising rents for three years to receive a total of $6,000 per unit, paid out at the end of the program if the rules are followed

“This approach that she has is totally out of touch,” Regalado said, calling the mayor’s plan a public relations “stunt.”

Levine Cava said the housing crisis affects people of all income levels.

“We have an opportunity to address this elephant in the room, which is the housing crisis, and it affects everybody,” Levine Cava said. “It is very shortsighted not to invest in something that will hopefully bring us to a time when the market stabilizes, when the cost of housing comes into some new balance.”

Regalado’s harsh words are likely to reflect the opinion of fiscally conservative commissioners and many constituents. If Levine Cava wants the HOMES program to survive, she will have to make adjustments. On the other hand, if commissioners are serious about making Miami-Dade County affordable they should be as serious about finding common ground.

After all, rent control is on people’s minds because of decades of insufficient long-term thinking on the part of our elected officials.

This story was originally published September 10, 2022 at 6:00 AM.