Senate passes bill making accessory dwellings more available to ease housing crisis

The Senate has unanimously passed a measure that aims to lower the cost of housing by allowing additional dwellings to be built on existing property.

Pensacola Republican Sen. Don Gaetz presented the bill (SB 184) to the Senate chamber and explained that local governments would be unable to impose certain restrictions under the measure.

“This bill requires local governments to allow accessory dwelling units,” Gaetz said.

“An ADU is a small, independent, fully functioning house located on the same lot as a stand-alone home. Sometimes they’re called carriage houses or granny flats. Under this bill, local governments may not impose additional undue parking restrictions or deny a homestead exemption for those portions of the property in which the owner maintains a permanent residence.”

Gaetz explained that the bill does continue local government’s authority to control setbacks and permitting. It would also allow the density bonus incentives in current law to apply to housing that’s affordable for military families receiving the basic housing allowance.

The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) would also conduct a study on different means of finance.

“ADUs, Madame President, increase workforce housing, because they cost less to build, less to rent, and are often located in urban areas where workers need to be close to their jobs,” Gaetz said. “There is an OPPAGA study on the potential use of other financing mechanisms in the future.”

Two amendments were adopted. Tamarac Democratic Sen. Rosalind Osgood introduced the first amendment to allow tenants the use of a reusable tenant screening report.

“This report must be prepared within the previous 30 days by a consumer reporting agency, at the applicant’s request, and expense, and be accessible to landlords at no cost,” Osgood said.

Osgood said the landlord would be authorized, but not required, to accept reusable tenant screening reports. The amendment would not preempt any local laws, and specifies that it does not override any other applicable laws related to consideration of criminal history information in housing, including local ordinances governed by the local government or any requested information by landlords.

“This amendment aims to further enhance what we’re doing around affordable housing by streamlining rental application processes by facilitating the use of standard tenant’s screening reports for a period of 30 days,” Osgood said.

The second amendment adopted was presented by Gaetz, and would restrict the use of ADUs strictly to rentals longer than 30 days

“This amendment affirms that municipalities may regulate the permitting, construction, and use of an ADU use subject to this act, and it prohibits renting or leasing for a term of less than one month,” Gaetz said.

Senate Democratic Leader Jason Pizzo supported the amendment and said it would prevent ADUs from being used as vacation rentals.

“Thank you, President Gaetz for this amendment. It basically would be tantamount to letting Airbnb’s pop up in the back yards of many of my communities,” Pizzo said.