TAMPA, Fla. — Your next rent hike could be required to come with two months’ notice.
Tampa city council on Thursday advanced a proposed ordinance that would require landlords to give renters at least 60 days’ notice if they plan to increase rent by more than 5 percent.
The idea is to give people more time to determine their options in an already red-hot housing market where both home prices and rent prices continue to climb.
There is no such requirement currently stipulated in state law.
Councilmember Bill Carlson presented the ordinance based on ideas brought by the community. It comes after other recent more drastic measures, like rent control, wound up being non-starters due to state law.
The initial pitch was for six months’ notice but the city’s assistant attorney said that kind of timeframe could be breaking state law.
“Florida statute provides that if a lease requires advance notice of non-renewal release, that notice period is limited to 60 days, so advising of a rental increase is the equivalent,” Assistant City Attorney Rebecca Johns explained to council members.
Month-to-month renters could also get more protection from being evicted suddenly. The proposal would increase the 15-day notice to 30 days.
“All seven of us [on city council] are frustrated because we're dealing with such a large crisis," Councilmember Luis Viera said, speaking in support of the proposal.
“On issues like these we’re limited, but it’s good for us to be able to move forward on these things that we can do.”
Council Chair Guido Maniscalco said, as a renter, he knows how difficult the current market is first-hand.
"I understand what it means to be a renter and I'm glad we're bringing this forward," he said. "I think we need to look at more options because we have a lot of people in this city that are hurting."
The council will take a vote on the proposed ordinance on May 19.
We reached out the Bay Area Apartment Association for comment on Thursday's vote. They sent us a statement saying, in part:
"Current Florida law prohibits landlords from requiring residents to tell us more than 60 days from the end of their lease if they want to stay in their apartment home or release it. We feel, in large part, that this ordinance is a solution chasing a non-existent problem. Rental housing operators, as a matter of standard practice, notify their residents well in advance of their renewal options and rental increases."