Listen:
A bill filed by a Seminole Republican Representative Berny Jacques would limit where big corporations could own homes in Florida.
He said the goal of the bill is to put people over profits.
“As I go around in the district and knock on doors, I hear from young people and professionals who are down, because they don’t think they could ever get into homeownerships,” Jacque told WMNF.
HB 401 would allow local governments to designate land only for single-family homeownership.
That would prevent corporations from owning homes.
Berny Jacques said he was inspired after hearing the housing struggles from his constituents.
A report from the Tampa Bay Times shows large corporations own around 27 thousand homes in the Tampa Bay area.
“To me, it’s showing me that if somebody doesn’t address this quickly, we’re going to wake up one day, and there’s not going to be enough inventory left for an ordinary person to be able to get into homeownership,” Jacques said.
But Elizabeth Strom, a professor at the University of South Florida, said the bill may have unintended consequences.
“My worry is that to have legislation that is more restrictive of what can be built, and who can live in areas zoned for single-family homes, will ultimately make it harder for people seeking affordable housing,” Storm told WMNF.
Jacques said he expects to face pushback in the state legislature but remains optimistic.
The regular legislative session starts March 4th.
Leave a Reply
