Florida continues to face a severe affordability gap in housing. In 2022, 35% of households were cost-burdened, and by 2024 the state was short more than 323,000 affordable units for households at 0–30% of Area Median Income (AMI). The Legislature’s 2023 Live Local Act—amended in 2024 and 2025—was designed to accelerate supply by combining incentives (notably property-tax exemptions) with strong preemption and streamlined approvals for qualifying projects. The law requires that at least 40% of units in eligible projects remain affordable for 30 years, and it allows multifamily development in commercial, industrial, or mixed-use zones without rezoning, subject to administrative review.
Implementation has produced real gains but also real friction. Since inception, the Act has helped add 3,171 affordable units across 23 properties, and local adjustments such as Tampa’s reduced parking ratios and flexible greenspace options show how municipalities can use the Act to lower delivery costs. Large mixed-use proposals—Catchlight Crossings in Orange County and HueHub and Cymbal DLT Midtown in Miami-Dade—demonstrate the potential for transit-served, amenity-rich communities to expand access for workers from roughly 0–120% AMI.
At the same time, several factors are constraining impact. Many eligible taxing authorities have opted out of the 75% “missing middle” (80–120% AMI) exemption, citing concerns that benefits accrue to developers without guaranteed rent relief and that lost revenue shifts to other taxpayers. Financing is also a hurdle: because exemptions generally apply only after completion, some lenders discount them at underwriting, dampening uptake. On the process side, retroactive code changes and local resistance have forced developers into litigation in some jurisdictions, slowing approvals and adding cost—undercutting the statute’s intent.
Recent amendments strengthen enforcement (priority court handling, fee awards, and municipal reporting beginning Nov. 1, 2026), but more is needed to close the gap—especially for the “missing middle.” Florida TaxWatch recommends adding state-level tax credits (e.g., a homebuilder credit for attainable single-family, a state low-income housing credit to complement the federal LIHTC, and adaptive-reuse credits) and encouraging consistent local implementation. Bottom line: the Act is moving units, but opt-outs, financing friction, and uneven local execution are limiting scale. Sustained collaboration and targeted state incentives can convert early progress into a durable pipeline.
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