Miami, Florida, ranks last among 182 major U.S. cities for rental affordability, The Latin Times reported. A $1,500 monthly budget covers only about 498 square feet.
Hispanic renters are feeling that squeeze particularly hard because they are among the groups most likely to devote unsustainable shares of their income to housing.
Here's what to know
Miami's median asking rent stood at about $3,285 per month, even as rents softened in some other Florida metro areas.
The Center for Economic and Policy Research, using ethnicity data from Harvard's 2022 housing survey, found that 60.4% of Hispanic renters in Florida and 56.3% in California are cost-burdened. In other words, they spend more than 30% of their income on rent.
More background
In Miami's Little Havana neighborhood, the crisis is playing out at the Silver Court Mobile Home Park. After the landowner announced redevelopment plans, more than 200 families received notices in March telling them they must leave by September 30, CBS News reported.
Many residents own their mobile homes but not the land beneath them, leaving them vulnerable when a park shuts down.
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Since 2020, Miami-Dade County has seen about 278,000 residents leave through domestic out-migration, with middle-class Hispanic families among those being pushed out by rising costs.
Miami-Dade's Tenants' Bill of Rights stopped applying after a 2023 Florida law blocked local tenant ordinances statewide.
What's being done?
Some local and state officials have pushed for relief. State Sen. Ileana García and Miami City Commissioner Ralph Rosado met with Silver Court residents to seek more time and larger payouts, while Palm Beach County commissioners advanced a $228.7 million housing budget allocation.
Advocacy and legal support groups are also stepping in to fill gaps. The Miami Workers Center organizes low-income renters and runs programs to keep tenants out of eviction court. Legal Services of Greater Miami offers free representation for qualifying tenants facing eviction.
A landlord cannot legally change the locks, shut off utilities, or take away a tenant's belongings without a court order, regardless of what the lease says. Charging different rates or refusing to rent to someone because of national origin or language is illegal under Florida law.
Where can I learn more?
These stories look at the same pressures forcing renters into smaller spaces and tougher housing choices. They cover micro-apartments, rent gouging, local rent caps, and lower-cost housing experiments in cities around the country.
• Across dense urban markets, young professionals embrace sleek micro-apartments as rents keep climbing.
• In California, landlords engaged in rent gouging after a natural disaster struck vulnerable communities.
• In Redwood City, voters are weighing rent cap and rollback measures alongside stronger tenant protections.
• In Springfield, families are moving into a tiny home community with rents under $500.
• In Baltimore, families are finding hope in affordable tiny homes as housing costs rise.
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