PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: No longer running, but administration not done working. PHOTO COURTESY OF FACEBOOK

Miami – Despite dropping his reelection bid, President Joseph Biden has announced plans for affordable housing relief across the United States.

As Democrats rally around Vice President Kamala Harris as their nominee to take on former president Trump in November, Biden is back to work.

To tackle the affordable housing crisis, Biden plans to call on Congress to pass legislation that would ensure landlords cap rent increase at 5 percent or risk losing out on federal tax breaks.

If it is taken up by Congress, the plan would apply to landlords who hold more than 50 units, meaning more than 20 million units nationwide could be affected, according to the White House.

There would also be exceptions for new construction and certain renovations.

“The policy is a bridge to rent stabilization as President Biden’s plan to build more takes hold,” the White House said in a statement.

“The president believes that this combination of anti-gouging policies and historic levels of support to build more affordable housing effectively balances the needs of tenants without limiting incentives for more supply.”

Before he dropped out of the race, Biden critics had cited the economy and cost of living as his primary vulnerabilities.

An NBC News poll conducted in April found that voters preferred Trump by 22 percentage points on the issue of who would better deal with inflation and cost of living.

At the same time, the poll indicated that 23 percent of registered voters found inflation and cost of living to be the most important issue facing the country.

The affordable housing shortage is severely impacting Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties as thousands of residents are struggling to find places to live.

Some are homeless, sleeping in encampments in public places or in their cars.

A new state law set to take effect Oct. 1 adds another layer to the problem.

The legislation backed by Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis forces governments statewide to arrest homeless people sleeping in public places if they refuse to enter shelters.

Most homeless advocates said the affordable housing crisis is the root of homelessness and the state shouldn’t criminalize people who can’t afford expensive rent rates.

According to RentCafe, the average rent for an apartment in Miami-Dade is estimated at $2,538 per month.

The median rent for all bedrooms and all property types is $3,200.

As of July 2024, the average rent in Miami-Dade is $2,076 per month, which is 35 percent higher than the national average rent price of $1,535.

In Broward County, the average cost of rent for an apartment is about $1,781 per month, and $1,749 in Palm Beach County.

State law bans local governments from controlling rent increases with the exception of housing emergencies.

To address the housing crisis, the Legislature last year passed the Live Local Act which is a comprehensive, statewide workforce housing plan designed to increase affordable housing opportunities.

The act provides historic funding for workforce housing, and offers developers incentives to build affordable housing including state tax breaks, and allows them to build high-density units.

Most recently, the City of Miami approved a rezoning plan for Infinity Collective and MVW Partners to build 454 affordable apartment units at 8083 NE Second Ave. in Little Haiti under the Local Live Act.

The developers purchased the land, a former of AT&T telecommunications facility site, for more than $13 million, according to city records.

The development would rise 28 stories and include workforce housing.

Miami-Dade County is accelerating its efforts with a $40 million federal grant to build more housing near transit hubs. The grant will allow the county to complete the final phase of the Brownsville Transit Village at Brownsville Metrorail station, Northwest 52 Street and 29th Avenue.

The first phase built a 14-story, 196unit building with a parking garage and business center in 2014. County officials recently broke ground on the second part which will add about 120 homes with a fitness center, community room, laundromat and pocket park.

The public-private affordable housing project will be available to low-income families, which shouldn’t exceed 40 percent of their monthly income. Also, the grant allowed Miami-Dade to open 538 units for senior citizens at Sawyer’s Walk in Overtown and redevelopment of the Culmer area.