The Florida Realtors Association, a politically influential industry trade group that lobbied the Florida Legislature to kill Orange County’s temporary rent control effort in 2022, is now trying to convince Florida voters to vote Yes on Amendment 3 this November.
Opponents of the measure warn Amendment 3 would gut billions of dollars in funding statewide for essential public services like police, fire rescue, parks and road maintenance, animal services, and libraries. At least 60 percent of voters must vote Yes on Amendment 3 for the measure to pass.
The Florida Realtors Association, a state affiliate of a national lobbying powerhouse, has spent $19.5 million and counting so far on ads promoting Amendment 3, according to campaign finance records, through the political committee Vote Yes on 3.
Amendment 3, on the ballot next month, would expand the state’s non-school homestead property tax exemption from $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027, and up to $250,000 in 2028 — essentially helping some homeowners save on property taxes.
So, if your home costs less than $150,000 in 2027 — the first year of its implementation, if passed — or less than $250,000 in 2028, you would pay $0 in property taxes, according to Florida Tax Watch. It would also reduce the annual cap on assessment increases for non-homestead properties from 10 percent to 5 percent.
Critics, however, warn that the measure could shift costs onto renters — meaning, rent hikes could be on their way — if local governments raise fees to make up for the lost revenue.
Local governments, like the city of Orlando and Orange County, rely on property tax revenue to fund public services, staff and programming that keep communities running. State economists estimate that Amendment 3 would drain $5 billion collectively from local governments in Florida in the first year of implementation alone, if passed.
Orange County, specifically, would lose out on an estimated $2.85 billion over a five-year period, according to Florida Tax Watch.
Who supports it?
The Florida Republican Party, several Republican state lawmakers, Gov. Ron DeSantis, and the Florida Realtors all support the measure, while the list of groups opposed is diverse and growing every day: from the Florida Sheriff’s Association to the Florida AFL-CIO, police and firefighters unions, the League of Women Voters and Florida Library Association.
The Florida Democratic Party — and former Republican Florida Senate president Kathleen Passidomo (who voted to place Amendment 3 on the ballot) — are also urging a No vote.
The Realtors Association claims Amendment 3 would help solve Floridians’ affordability crisis by providing near-immediate relief to Florida homeowners.
“We have always fought for policies that help Floridians buy, own and keep their homes,” the Florida Realtors states on its website. “Supporting Amendment 3 means helping Floridians stay in their homes and keep more of what they earn. ”
Notably, the expanded tax exemption wouldn’t be available to homeowners who move to Florida after Dec. 31. At least, not until they’ve lived in Florida for five years.
Yet, as Floridians suffered a 39 percent hike in median rents from 2019 to 2023, the Realtors Association actively advocated to kill a measure locally that would have temporarily capped rent hikes at roughly 10 percent.
In 2022, Orange County residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of a measure to cap rent increases at 9.8 percent for just one year. The Florida Realtors Association and Apartment Association immediately sued the county to block it, lobbied the Florida Legislature to block similar rent control measures statewide — and won.
The lawsuit over Orange County’s rent stabilization measure ultimately reached the Florida Supreme Court, which decided against hearing the case after Florida lawmakers approved a law (SB 102) in 2023 banning Florida’s local governments from enacting rent control.
A tax cut or a trainwreck?
Amendment 3 is the product of the GOP-controlled Florida Legislature’s efforts to appease outgoing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis, ahead of the 2026 legislative session that concluded earlier this year, had called on lawmakers to draft legislation that would deliver a complete elimination of property taxes.
Amendment 3 is a watered-down version of that proposal. DeSantis himself initially distanced himself from the final product (HJR 1F), after its passage, before confirming he plans to vote for Amendment 3 this November himself.
The number of groups and individuals willing to publicly endorse Amendment 3’s passage is dwarfed by its opposition, which includes groups — like various chambers of commerce and police unions — that typically lean conservative.
Even Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd — an ally of DeSantis — called the proposal a “train wreck” and warned it would defund local public safety agencies, including police, paramedics, and fire rescue.
Even right-wing Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd has called Amendment 3 a “train wreck.”
“Amendment 3 doesn’t protect law enforcement, firefighters or emergency services, it defunds them,” Judd said at a press conference. “You can’t take billions of dollars out of local government and pretend it won’t affect the law enforcement officer who answers your 911 call, the firefighter responding to your home or the roads and stormwater systems your community relies on,” Judd said.
The Florida AFL-CIO, the state’s largest federation of labor unions — representing more than one million workers and retirees — is also concerned. So, too, are leaders in the business community.
“Of course, our chamber wants tax relief for our businesses and residents, and we certainly hope the Florida Legislature will revisit this issue carefully and diligently to provide relief,” the Seminole County Chamber of Commerce said in a statement shared by the political committee Vote No on 3. “This proposal is simply too drastic and too sudden, and the effects could seriously hurt Seminole County’s high standards for our quality of life.”
