Tampa Bay needs affordable housing and no strings attached

We are quickly learning how different things will be different from 2025 onwards. During a recent confirmation hearing for newly appointed U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, the candidate at the time said: …Whether it will help promote affordable housing? ”

I ask colleagues at all levels in the policy area tackling the affordable housing crisis to ask the same questions. At the very least, can we remove barriers to affordable housing?

The difficult facts about affordable housing nationwide remain largely the same, but the emergency could not have been any more disastrous here.

•One per six households pays 50% or more of their income for housing expenses. As a result, savings are nearly impossible due to retirement or emergencies, making it difficult to afford other essentials like food and childcare.

• Factors other than our control, such as hurricanes and other natural disasters, have had a major impact on the housing market. Habitat for Humanity is working to combat these factors by building the code above. This will make the home more resilient. This keeps the family at home even if a disaster occurs.

• Florida Habitat affiliates are pioneering new ways of building and innovation in the construction of small homes, townhomes, squares and doubles to keep up with the growing housing crisis. These new homes are covered by affordable mortgages, with less than 30% of the buyer’s total revenue.

• Recently, rising costs of homeowners’ insurance and property taxes have been hit particularly hard by our homeowners. Habitat for Humanity and Habitat Hillsboro in Florida work with partner organizations such as the Florida Housing Coalition to study these issues and provide practical solutions.

Given the subtle policy and leadership, the above issues consider the need to succeed in ensuring that workers and their families have access to quality, reliable, affordable housing. And it requires cross collaboration. The people who have been influenced by Habitat for Humanity Affiliates are those who help us every day. They work in the education system, checking in at the doctor’s office and helping them make deposits at the bank. They are our veterans and our friends.

We can all agree that we need access to more affordable single-family homes as we are fundamental to pursuing our American dreams. From Secretary Turner to Tampa’s newly appointed director of housing and community development, Jeff McKittrick, existing barriers to affordable housing for others from surrounding municipalities, regardless of political affiliation. I look forward to removing it.

Future state legislative meetings support Florida Habitat for Humanity Affiliate, Florida Habitat for Humanity will give a uniform assessment of affordable home property taxes across the state. We plan to introduce a bill to ensure that this is the case. This is necessary because many homes built by nonprofits include resale restrictions that reduce the price that homes can sell to maintain affordable homeownership.

When we try to start a legislative session, we ask that everyone pay special attention to the needs of our state’s working families, namely the need for affordable homeownership. Homeowners know that there are many benefits, including increased child high school graduation rates and improved health outcomes for all W.

Tina Forcia is the CEO of Habitat for Humanity, Hillsboro County.