By Jami Holder
To readers of Red Tape Florida: We are pleased to announce a new content-sharing partnership between Red Tape Florida and the Devoe L. Moore Center at Florida State University. From time to time, the Devoe L. Moore Center will share research and other writing that is relevant to Red Tape Florida’s mission of shining a light on excessive local government regulation and bureaucracy. Today is the first installment in that partnership.
Floridians are currently suffering from an affordable housing crisis. According to a recent report from the Florida Housing Coalition, more than 2.1 million Florida households were cost-burdened, or spending more than 30 percent of their monthly incomes on housing costs. This crisis is occurring as a result of a housing supply shortage. Even with an influx of new apartment complexes being built across Florida, the market is still not providing enough housing options for low and moderate-income households.
S.B. 184, a bill sponsored by Florida Senator Don Gaetz, R-Pensacola, would require local governments to allow Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) in certain areas of all cities in Florida. ADUs, also referred to as granny flats, casitas, or in-law suites, are small-scale developments contained within pre-existing single-family housing lots. The passage of the Senator’s bill could soon become a promising step in promoting the development of ADUs and other forms of medium-density and urban infill housing.
ADU’s are part of a trend toward medium-density housing and are increasingly popular alternatives to large-scale apartment complexes. These types of housing help restore “missing middle housing” because they aim to fill in a gap between single-family homes and high-density apartment buildings. Missing middle housing types include townhouses, duplexes, triplexes, condos, and, in some cases, ADUs. They are typically designed to be cohesive within an existing neighborhood design. This housing also minimizes urban sprawl by allowing for urban infill within pre-existing neighborhoods to avoid new subdivision development.
ADUs can address the state’s affordable housing crisis by providing Floridians with a cheaper alternative to single-family houses. For example, ADUs can be especially beneficial for seniors, who may wish to age in lower-density residential areas rather than in apartment communities. ADUs can also provide families with flexible housing options for young adults and can provide property owners with an additional source of income.
Despite these community benefits, ADUs currently face a number of legal and regulatory barriers in Florida. Several of Florida’s 67 counties do not mention ADUs in their local ordinances at all, and some counties explicitly prohibit them from being built in single-family zoning districts. When they are allowed, ADUs face restrictions in size, location, and owner-occupancy. These burdensome regulatory barriers deter homeowners from constructing ADUs on their land.
If Floridians wish to have more affordable housing options, restrictions against ADUs should be eliminated. ADUs should be allowed by default in all single-family zoning districts in Florida, and excessive minimum lot size requirements should also be reduced so new units can more easily be developed. Additionally, property owners should be encouraged to rent their ADUs on the long-term market instead of as vacation rentals or short-term leases.
Sen. Gaetz’s bill is a great step in the right direction by Florida lawmakers, but more bills should still be introduced to further ease regulatory barriers to ADUs. Policies that relax restrictions on market-driven housing will be necessary to meet the affordable housing challenges faced by Floridians.
Jami Holder is a Research Intern at the DeVoe L. Moore Center in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy at Florida State University and an Interdisciplinary Social Sciences major with a concentration in urban planning.