Collier County commission repeals 60-day notice requirement for rent hikes

Collier County commissioners have repealed a 60-day notice requirement for rent hikes of more than 5%.

Commissioners voted 4-1 to reverse course on the mandate, narrowly approved in October.

The change of heart followed a change in leadership.

Both of the board's new members voted for the rescission on Tuesday.

New commissioner Chris Hall championed the effort, as a believer in smaller government and less government overreach.

"I'm trying to get government out of your lives. Because this is a landlord-tenant issue," he said.

Newcomer Dan Kowal seconded Hall's motion to do away with the ordinance.

He said he always questioned the constitutionality of it, when state laws are already in place to govern the landlord-tenant relationship in Florida.

"The constitution doesn't say it only applies to renters," Kowal said. "The constitution applies to everyone."

He also raised concerns about the severity and imposition of fines on landlords, up to $500 per violation.

More:'Burden on landlords'? Collier commissioners mull repeal of new notice rule for rent hikes

Previously:Collier County commissioners advance 60-day landlord notice for rent hikes of more than 5%

Commissioner Burt Saunders continued to support the ordinance. He was one the three who approved it, with the others who brought it to victory a few months ago no longer in office.

He described the notice requirement as "largely symbolic," but "somewhat helpful."

While he opposed the repeal, Saunders said he liked that the issue came back up again because he believes it once again highlighted the need to address the larger housing crisis.

From a handful of speakers, commissioners once again heard about the difficulties faced by residents and employers due to the severe shortage of affordable workforce housing in Collier County. In response, Saunders said he believed the board is poised to come up with some "real solutions" to address the problem.

"I think you've made a difference," he said. "And, I think all five of us now are prepared to make some hard decisions."

Saunders called it a "good day" for the future of workforce housing in the community.

Newly-appointed chairman Rick LoCastro, who opposed the 60-day notice requirement for several reasons, voted for the repeal.

He continued to question what, if anything, the ordinance has done to help anyone since it passed. He described it as a disappointment.

LoCastro also saw the new requirement as government overreach. So did Commissioner Bill McDaniel, who supported the repeal because of a perceived conflict with state law – and a belief that it's unnecessary.

The Collier County Tenants Union petitioned and lobbied hard for the ordinance as a way to better protect renters from unscrupulous landlords trying to take advantage of them with sudden hikes.

Elizabeth Radi, a representative for the Collier County Tenants Union, said the board shouldn't have voted on the repeal, with Hall and Kowal both tied to the real estate industry, which she viewed as a conflict of interest.

She raised her concerns about the potential conflicts at the hearing, but the board did not address them during its discussions.

"I hoped maybe that it would be pushed down the line, a little bit, and they wouldsee the value in possibly tabling it," Radi said after the hearing.

Given more time, she said, the ordinance might have been a lot more consequential.

As for the larger issue of affordable housing, Radi said she's not feeling any more hopeful that county commissioners will take any meaningful action, despite their reassurances and promises to do so Tuesday.

She said she expects any real solutions to come from private businesses and nonprofits.

"They are the ones that are going to get things done," Radi said.

In recent years, the county has seen some of the largest rental increases in the country, for a few reasons, including what's been described as a "supply-demand mismatch."

According to research by the CoStar Group, rental rates in the county have increased by more than 39% since 2019.

The situation has only worsened since Hurricane Ian hit, with affordable rentals in even shorter supply, due to a record storm surge and high winds from the near-Category 5 storm that ravaged many neighborhoods and communities in Southwest Florida.

The City of Naples adopted similar 60-day noticing rules before the county did, and they remain in effect.