Hialeah, Miami Beach pass local laws to limit huge rent hikes
The Miami City Commission may set aside $5 million on Thursday to help reenters in the city who are “unable to absorb dramatic rent increases.”
But only some people.
Even though the resolution would establish a new “special revenue project” called “Miami for Everyone Rental Assistance Program,” it’s really not for everyone, as the title would imply. Of course it is sponsored by Mayor Francis Suarez, who has a political action committee by the same name, even though he’s really only the mayor for the rich and beautiful now.
Maybe he’s feeling bad for all the people who have lost so much money on his MiamiCoin cryptocurrency scam,
The resolution, as written in the agenda for Thursday’s commission meeting, said the program would allocate and appropriate funding, not to exceed $5 million, “to provide assistance to middle class city of Miami residents.”
So, neither rich people nor poor people need apply. Where is the line drawn?
The resolution would also authorize the city manager to allocate $250,251.19 to the Department of Housing and Community Development for the administration of the program. So it costs a quarter of a million dollars to give a million away?
Read related: Miami International Airport vendors get no-bid rent breaks for ‘COVID relief’
If approved Thursday, this move would make Miami the third city in the county to address rising rents, which has become a huge problem in Miami, forcing people into homelessness. Media have reported a 38% increase in rents in 2021, the highest in the nation. Earlier this week, it was announced that Miami had surpassed New York City as the most expensive housing market in the country — fueled, in part, by all the nuyorquinos who moved here during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tenants in one Hialeah building held a demonstration recently after their landlord hiked their monthly rent by up to $650.
On Tuesday, the city of Hialeah — which had already set up a rental assistance program for those residents — passed a resolution that requires landlords to provide 60-days notice if they are going to raise rents by 10% or more. Newly-elected Councilman Bryan Calvo wanted it the threshold to be 5% like the resolution that passed in Miami Beach earlier this month, sponsored by Commissioner Alex Fernandez. But he said he was satisfied with the compromise.
“Ten percent is still going to help thousands of people,” he told the Spanish-language news media. “It’s a step in the right direction.”
A better step would be statewide legislation that regulated rent increases the same way property value assessments are regulated.
In 1995, the state constitution was amended with what is known as the homestead “Save Our Homes” 3% cap. That means homesteaded property values cannot rise more than 3% in one year, helping to keep tax increases down when property values rise. And allowing people to stay in their homes. The cap, which is 10% for non homesteaded properties, resets when a property is sold.
That was needed then. Rental increase caps are needed now. They could be treated the same way, where the landlord can bring it up however much the market can bear once the lease is up or, where there is no lease, once the home is rented to someone else.
Would it be too much to ask our state legislators to do something that would really help their constituents?
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez wants $5 mil set aside for rental assistance added by Ladra on
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Ahhh, the other side of the capitalism coin. You ain’t in Havana anymore!
Francis Suarez and his Cuban elected official cronies increase taxes every year. Actual taxes go up to pay for the massive pay and benefit packages doled out to public sector employees. Almost none of these employees live in the City of Miami YET they take money from Miami’s taxpayers. Suarez screws the actual taxpayers.
” It’s funny how we love capitalism and abhor socialism until capitalism becomes too awkward requiring a little socialism.”
How true , well put but both camps are prone to this .
Typical of the extreme type of examples I come up with but it makes my point —
If I was a Communist I would run here as a Republican because that letter R in front of my name would protect me .
If I was a Fascist I would run in California (where my sisters live ) as Democrat because that letter D in front of my name would protect me.
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It is funny that Suarez and Gimenez when he was Mayor call themselves Republicans because during the COVID shut down when we were shut down 2 months more then rest of the state they would both go on CNN and swear to Wolf Blitzer that the shut down would continue .
When Gimenex finally lifted what IMO was a useless business destroying shut down , Suarez was apologizing to Blitzer for the shut down being lifted .
I mean seriously grow a pair you weasel .
Good luck finding just ONE of these slimy flunkies who actually has any conviction.
Yes there are landlords that take advantage but every year assessed (non homestead)values go up automatically 10% there is no 5-7% its basically automatic. Insurance is another issue where it continues going up by 30-40% per year. That cost is passed on to renters. Also materials, gas, repairs affect rental rates. Thank you for your newsletter Ladra.
Mayor Suarez and his Planning Department staffers are working like little beavers to evict 500 residents from affordable apartments at D Place on NE 54th Street in Buena Vista. Yup. A lowlife slumlord from NYC hired lowlife lobbyist Melissa Tapanes. They want to demolish all 500 units and allow the scammers to build 3,000 units of market rate rentals at 4 x the rent. FKA Sabal Palm Apartments…
Give them Some of Those Funny Coins !!
It’s funny how we love capitalism and abhor socialism until capitalism becomes too awkward requiring a little socialism. It was about a year ago in this clip when Mayor Suarez talked against socialism—his interview starts 59 minutes into this podcast.
https://radio.foxnews.com/2021/03/19/miami-mayor-francis-suarez-says-he-is-disgusted-by-the-concept-of-universal-income-because-it-is-a-slow-path-to-socialism-communism/
We lived in a three bedroom house, in Miami’s. N. W. Near. Flagler, upon arriving from Cuba for $ 120, and having lived here since, know the Public taxation tracks of this area. What other reason can landlords offer for the heavy fisted rental rates ?