Miami – A Miami-Dade program designed to assist residents facing eviction amid soaring rental rates could be in peril after funding was axed from the state’s budget.

The Florida Legislature approved $1.35 million for the county’s Eviction Prevention Program but the funding couldn’t escape the veto pen of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis slashed $950 million to bring the state’s budget to $116.5 billion for the 2024-2025 fiscal year which takes effect July 1.

The county created the program last year and in 2021 launched the rental and mortgage assistance program for families on the brink of eviction.

The chaos stemmed from the COVID-19 pandemic and the county program slated more than $60 million to address it.

The county spent $2.9 million for the Eviction Prevention pilot program in 2023 to support free legal assistance for families facing eviction, this after the Supreme Court lifted the federal eviction abeyance in 2021 which helped families impacted by the pandemic.

The funds were being directed to Legal Services of Greater Miami (Legal Services), which works with five community-based nonprofits to provide advocacy, outreach and awareness on tenants’ rights.

The cohort of subgrant awardees include Cuban American Bar Association Pro Bono Legal Services, Community Justice Project, Miami Workers Center, Haitian Lawyers Association and the Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr., Bar Association.

The Legislature approved the $1.5 million funding requests by West Park state Sen. Shevrin Jones and Miami Gardens state Rep. Felicia Robinson, both Democrats. They originally requested $2.5 million.

The county now has to rely on its own funding and outside support for the program with more than 5,115 pending evictions having been filed between 2020 and 2023, according to a MiamiDade County Evictions report.

There are currently more than 9,000 pending evictions for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, according to Miami New Times.

About 1,000 Miami-Dade households still impacted by the pandemic and surging rental rates are in need of the county’s Emergency Rental Assistance program, which so far has distributed more than $48.8 million in relief.

Miami-Dade already has spent about 80 percent of the allocation, exceeding the federal government requirement of distributing at least 65 percent of the funds.

DeSantis did approve $500 million for statewide housing assistance programs in the state’s budget.

The county will seek additional funding to address the recent skyrocketing rental rates, as South Florida experienced eviction numbers that exceeded pre-pandemic levels in 2022.

The 5,115 pending eviction cases filed in Miami-Dade is a 61 percent increase over the year prior and 9 percent higher than in 2019.

The assistance program also plays a big part in keeping roofs over families’’ heads, as the county prepares budget numbers for the upcoming 2024-2025 fiscal year to support the initiative.

The program assists individuals and families who are homeless, at risk of homelessness or facing economic displacement. People who qualify can receive assistance with rent, mortgage, security deposits, utility bills and food, including up to $1,000 for rent and up to $1,500 in mortgage assistance each year.

Miami-Dade is also continuing its efforts to build more affordable housing with additional funding from the federal government and partnering with developers to erect residential units at affordable rates in exchange for allowing them to build at higher densities even in restricted zoning neighborhoods.

In her budget message for the upcom- ing fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, MiamiDade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said the county brought down about $1.5 billion in state and federal funds to launch or expedite key infrastructure projects including continuing to tackle the affordable housing shortage.