ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — On his trusty bicycle, William Kilgore delivers Uber Eats orders in downtown St. Petersburg.
It’s how he can afford to pay the rent each month in a city where that can be increasingly tough for many renters.
“There’s a severe shortage of affordable housing,” Kilgore said.
So, when Kilgore isn’t delivering food, he’s fighting for more affordable rentals and more protections for renters as an organizer with the St. Petersburg Tenants Union.
“When we organize, we make things happen,” he said.
Kilgore said that belief has been proven by victories across the state. So far, 46 local governments have instituted tenants' bills of rights, including Miami-Dade County, Orange County, Pinellas County, Hillsborough County, the City of Tampa, and the City of St. Pete.
Though the ordinances vary from location to location, the bills of rights typically inform renters and landlords of their rights and expectations, protect renters from various forms of income discrimination, and make sure renters have an adequate heads-up before any rent hikes take effect.
“You know, it's a very basic, simple thing,” Kilgore said.
However, those policies are in jeopardy.
Two bills filed at the Florida State Capitol — one in the House of Representatives and the other in the Senate — would take the power to regulate rentals from local governments and give it to the state instead.
According to the bill's text:
The regulation of residential tenancies, the landlord-tenant relationship, and all other matters covered under this part are preempted to the state. This section supersedes any local government regulations on matters covered under this part, including, but not limited to, the screening process used by a landlord in approving tenancies; security deposits; rental agreement applications and fees associated with such applications; terms and conditions of rental agreements; the rights and responsibilities of the landlord and tenant; disclosures concerning the premises, the dwelling unit, the rental agreement, or the rights and responsibilities of the landlord and tenant; fees charged by the landlord; or notice requirements.
Supporters of the bill, including the Florida Apartment Association and the National Association of Residential Property Managers, said the current rules are too confusing and inconsistent since they vary from county to county and can even vary between multiple local governments in the same county.
“These policies have created a cumbersome patchwork of inconsistent regulations across the state that cause confusion for both landlords and tenants,” said Michael Hodges, with the National Association of Residential Property Managers, during a recent House subcommittee hearing.
Furthermore, one of the bill’s sponsors — Rep. Tiffany Esposito, a Republican from Lee County — thinks cutting through the “levels of bureaucracy” created by local governments will actually drive down housing costs by allowing the free market to solve the affordable housing crisis.
“This bill is not punishing renters,” she assured. “This bill is protecting both tenants and landlords.”
Back in St. Pete, however, Kilgore is organizing against the bill.
“It’s a large percentage of the renter households in this state are going to be affected, and they’re going to lose these newly-found rights,” he said. “We’ve got to raise awareness about this. We have to continue organizing our tenants here in St. Pete, tenants in Miami, tenants in Tampa, you know, and mount a resistance to that.”
To Kilgore, local governments should have the right to give their renters rights.
The House bill (HB 1417) got one favorable vote down party lines from a House subcommittee last week. A Senate committee will debate the Senate version of the bill (S 1586) on Wednesday at noon.