Housing Crisis in Florida Made Worse By Nature

2020 and the start of 2021 have certainly left Florida families with enough to deal with. In addition to job losses, evictions, COVID and related illnesses, social unrest, and myriad other issues, nature is now giving Florida families another problem to deal with. It appears that climate change is directly related to housing problems in low-lying areas of Florida.

WUSF spoke with an elderly resident in a small Miami Beach apartment. At 81, the tenant pays rent with Section 8 housing funds and has lived in the apartment for a decade. But less than a foot of elevation separates his apartment from the full force of the Atlantic Ocean. This means that the property is subject to serious damage during hurricanes and other natural disasters.

It also means that climate change experts predict the whole area could be underwater by 2090. That is a serious problem for the families who will continue to rely on the availability of Section 8 properties in Florida over the coming decades. The housing crisis is not limited to just affordable housing. The Chicago Tribune reports that the luxury real estate market is also collapsing in low-lying areas of Florida. In Bal Harbor, home sales fell by half between 2013and 2018. Price drops followed, and between 2016 and 2020, the average home sale price had dropped by 7.6 percent.

So what is the answer? In any situation of housing trouble, the answer is to act early. The sooner you get legal advice about your situation, the better options you will have for resolving it. If you wait until you have fallen far behind on rent or mortgage payments, or until the coastline has already gotten to your home, you will have few good options left to resolve your housing problems.

The experienced Casselberry and Oviedo eviction and foreclosure attorneys at Quattrochi, Torres, and Taormina are here to answer all your questions. Call 407.452.4918 or contact us online today to schedule your free consultation.