TAMPA, Fla. – Evictions in Florida is a growing issue that affordable housing advocates are tackling head on.

What You Need To Know

  • Evictions are a growing issue in Florida

  • To tackle the problem, advocates are pushing for affordable house

  • Lawmakers in the state are planning to reintroduce bills that would protect those facing evictions

​Martha Watson lives at Timberfalls Apartments in Tampa. She’s one of many residents asking for help finding a safe and affordable place to live.

“These last few years have been very hard and going through everything with the pandemic,” she said.

If you ask her or hundreds of other advocates that gathered alongside ‘Florida Rising’ across the state Saturday, they’ll tell you affordable housing is hard to come by.

They say if they have one message for lawmakers it would be this: that word affordable has got to change because while it may be affordable for the average American, it’s definitely not affordable for them.

The call for more affordable housing comes as home prices skyrocket across Tampa Bay and the nation. Advocates are now calling for a ban on evictions, mandated rent control and more money for rental assistance—something lawmakers agree with.

Congresswoman Diane Hart represents the 61st District.

“We’re 50,000 units short on any day,” she said. “So just imagine the people who are going to be evicted, where will they be? They will be couch hopping, they will have to live with other families and we believe that that within itself creates a health issue.”

Two bills designed to protect those facing eviction from finding housing in the future did not make it on the agenda.

Congresswoman Hart said Hillsborough County and others statewide can continue to get funds from the CARES Act and other programs to help those who are struggling with making ends meet.

Lawmakers in Tallahassee say they plan to re-introduce those bills next year, but locally, Hillsborough County Commissioner Kimberly Overman spoke on the Tenant’s Bill of Rights that she initiated, an ordinance that passed early March. The ordinance set to go into effect July 1st will protect residents who are living in unsafe situations to know what they can do.

Tampa city council members are set to review the ordinance at their July 15th meeting to see if they will enact a similar ordinance within the City of Tampa limits.