TAMPA -- This city has the nation's hottest real estate market. But its rents are also rising faster than anywhere in the country.
Just days after rolling out a rental assistance program, the city of Tampa is about to take up a 400 percent increase in funding, from one million to four million dollars. Mayor Jane Castor and city council chair Orlando Gudes announced the news at an event Wednesday.
The Rental and Move-in Assistance Program (RMAP) offers assistance to any Tampa resident or anyone who's considering a move to a Tampa rental property, as long as their income is under $72,400 (single), or 140 percent of Tampa's median income. Benefits include paying for security deposits, first and last month's rent, and/or an ongoing rental subsidy.
Castor says that the city has already received a hundred applications for assistance. The mayor says people working in industries such as nursing or restaurants need to be able to live within the city, and that rising rents threaten Tampa's diversity.
Gudes says he believed all along that additional money would be needed. "Pay in Florida hasn't increased, but the (rental) market has. So what do we do?" Gudes says he hears all the time from people who say they can't afford to stay in Tampa as rents rise.
Castor repeated her opposition to rent control, saying it would discourage developers from coming to the city.
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