Photo via cityofstpete/Flickr
Over the last almost four years (probably much longer), many residents in St. Petersburg begged the city for help with the housing crisis.
Amy Foster, former council member and current St. Pete Housing and Neighborhood Services Administrator, made the original motion to explore rent control before her term ended in December 2021. The Tenant Bill of Rights was something she later worked on with both council and the administration.
“Mayor Welch’s administration, in partnership with the St. Petersburg City Council, has been intent and working hard to provide protections for tenants, ensure rights were afforded to them and hold landlords who were non-compliant accountable,” Foster told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay via email. “Sadly, the repeal removes those protections and turns back the clock on inclusive progress.”
But the St. Pete Tenants Union and council member Richie Floyd maintain that source of income discrimination protections via city ordinance might be possible outside the new housing preemption.
“Source of income protections are probably the most potent part of the Tenant Bill of Rights,” William Kilgore with the St. Pete Tenants Union, said at the meeting. “Source of income discrimination is something we have demonstrated is happening.”
A common example of source of income discrimination are those rental ads often advertising “no s8,” meaning no Section 8 housing vouchers. But those getting rental assistance and other forms of financial help are often overlooked or unable to find landlords willing to work with them.
Two weeks ago, St. Petersburg Assistant City Attorney Bradley Tennant said the city could look at ways to prevent discrimination under the Fair Housing Act in Chapter 760.
“There is potentially an opportunity to look at what can be done there,” Tennant said at that meeting.
Over the last almost four years (probably much longer), many residents in St. Petersburg begged the city for help with the housing crisis. Last year, residents stood on the steps of city hall and chanted for rent control. They asked the city to declare a housing state of emergency. The city refused either. (In case you’re wondering, the current cost for a two-bedroom apartment in St. Petersburg averages $2,215.)
The pushback from landlord groups like Bay Area Apartments, the Florida Realtor Association, and the Florida Apartment Association has been swift and damning. After Orange County voted overwhelmingly for rent stabilization, aka rent control, those lobbies helped write legislation specifically outlawing rent control ordinances and giving tax breaks to developers (who are part of the reason why we have a housing crisis). Legislators, including our own local Democrat Senator Darryl Rouson, dubbing it the “Live Local Act.”
St. Pete said no to rent control long before that law passed. Despite an outpouring of support from residents unable to find housing, St. Pete denied folks even a symbolic acknowledgement (which Tampa did) of the housing crisis. Ultimately, St. Pete voted to opt out of stronger protections for tenants under the county’s Bill of Rights (also now repealed). But before the repeal, St. Pete’s Bill of Rights had included preventing discrimination for source of income or third-party payments, something the St. Pete Tenants Union noted was crucial for renters right now.
In response to the repeal, Floyd motioned last week for a referral to the Housing, Land Use & Transportation (HLUT) Committee on a discussion, “on discrimination City-wide, including in housing.”
“What I would envision presenting is a kind of explanation of the various layers of discrimination….there’s all these different authorities that interact to try and prevent discrimination,” Tennant said. “That would be a way to inform what options the city has in that regard.”
Floyd told council members that he wrote it broadly to avoid preemption under HB 1417.
“The language is written broadly because that’s where our power is to enact anti-discrimination stuff,” Floyd said. “We don’t have the power to do it specifically anymore.”
Floyd’s motion passed in a 5-1 vote, with council member Ed Montanari voted against it. Council member Lisette Hanewicz was absent and council member Copley Gerdes was absent at the time of vote.
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