Rent affordability study warns against declaring state of emergency over Orange County housing

While we all know rent in Orlando is too damn high, a recent study warned Orange County commissioners against doing much of anything about it.

G.A.I. Consultants released a 54-page report last week that said Orange County’s rent affordability problem might not rise to the level of an emergency, that focusing on those most affected fails to see the scope of the overall crisis, and that fixing the problem of high rents through government action might have unforeseen effects.

The findings of this study are pretty bleak in the short-term. A 1977 Florida law says the government may intervene and enact rent control only when a housing emergency is declared, and this study appears to advise the Orange County government against such action.

“The focus on rents, virtually to the exclusion of other housing issues, overlooks the complexity of the current housing crisis and diverts attention away from the importance of a well-funded, continuing, and comprehensive strategic approach,” the report says.

Orange County rents have increased an average of 30% in the past year. To help alleviate this issue, Commissioner Emily Bonilla proposed a rent stabilization ordinance in April. This ordinance would not allow landlords owning four or more rental properties to increase a tenant’s monthly rent higher than 5% a year.

Unfortunately, further discussion of rent control was put on pause until the findings of the study came out. The county board will now return to talking about this issue on Tuesday, June 7. In the meanwhile, reports about just how grim the housing market is in Orlando have continued to pile up.

Should council members go along with the “times are hard all over” finding of this report, Orlandoans will be left to their own devices to survive this “crisis.” We doubt many Orlando residents can stomach another 30% increase.

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This article appears in Jun 1-7, 2022.