As Tampa Bay rents skyrocket to some of the highest prices in the nation, renters are fed up and are organizing to address the problems they face.
On Thursday, Nov. 11, the St. Petersburg People’s Council will gather at South St. Pete’s Manhattan Casino at 6 p.m. to air their grievances, and make plans on how to address them (a virtual option is also available).
“We are meeting to talk about declaring a state of emergency on housing in St. Petersburg to allow residents the right to vote on rent caps and rent freezes,” St. Petersburg Tenant Union (SPTU) wrote in an announcement.
Rents in St. Petersburg have spiked 46% in just the past five years, according to WFTS.
Representatives from the People’s Council say that if the City of St. Petersburg were to declare a housing crisis, it could afford the group an opportunity to place some form of relief for renters on a ballot referendum. If the referendum were to pass, it could possibly allow for certain rent protections that have been put in place in other cities.
While a Florida law against pricing controls adds a hurdle to the union’s goal, Seattle City Council got a major win for renters despite similar Washington state laws against rent control. In September, Seattle passed a law requiring landlords to give tenants 180 days’ notice before raising rents, and to pay relocation expenses to low-income tenants who move in response to rent hikes.
This month, Minneapolis—a city where rent control laws must also gain approval through a citywide referendum vote—passed a form of rent control that limits rent increase to no more than 3% per year.
SPTU members think St. Petersburg could help protect renters in similar ways. But their ultimate goal is guaranteed housing for all in St. Pete, because the group sees housing as a human right.
“We need guaranteed housing for the most vulnerable in our city and the city has all the resources to provide that,” SPTU member Karla Correa told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. “We’re tired of excuses, when there’s a will, there’s a way.”
The People’s Council told CL that the group met with Amy Foster, City Councilwoman for District 8 in St. Pete. They say that during the meeting, Foster agreed to introduce an emergency housing resolution to St. Pete City Council before her term is up.
“I said I would explore their proposals with legal and if there is a legal way to do what they are proposing, I will introduce it for a discussion but I was also clear [with the People’s Council] that the timing is tight,” Foster wrote to CL in an email.
About rent control, Foster said, “I personally would support it, but state law does not allow passing rent control. What they are proposing is that citizens vote on it-which is an entirely different approach.”
Foster said she always supports allowing St. Pete’s citizens to decide issues like this.
“I can hardly go anywhere without hearing stories about people who have lived here their entire lives that are being displaced,” Richie Floyd, who recently won the city council race for District 8 and will be filling Foster’s seat when her term expires in January, told CL. Floyd campaigned on supporting working class people. His campaign referred to housing as “a human right.”
Floyd said he supports a referendum, and when he takes office he also wants to look for longer-term solutions that include building more accessible housing, as well as working to increase wages, which would help alleviate rent-burdened renters. Being rent-burdened has become a major issue in Tampa Bay, especially for Black and Latin renters.
At the last People’s Council meeting, residents voted that housing is a human right, that St. Pete is in a housing emergency, and that a state of emergency should be declared by the Mayor or City Council. The Nov. 11 meeting—which will be catered by 22 Food Hall—is an opportunity to build on the discussions from the last gathering.
“The City of St. Petersburg received $45 million from the federal government from the American Rescue Plan,” SPTU wrote. “People are becoming homeless and the government has all of the resources to stop this.”
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This article appears in Nov 11-17, 2021.
