Florida seniors in dire financial straits are losing their housing

Despite its reputation as a retirement destination, rising rent costs continue to impact older Floridians, with approximately 35% of seniors in the Sunshine State moving or facing homelessness due to rising rent prices.

“I have always enjoyed living in Florida, but lately it can be a struggle. I have to watch my spending more than ever, because at the end of the day, I need to pay my rent,” Talia Pizango, a Miami resident for more than 30 years, told Floricua. “But even though it’s high, I still feel lucky, because my rent hasn’t gone up as much as others that I know.”

That is not the case for Alfredo Carrizalez, a Kendall resident who saw his rent go up $250 in the last month alone. The cost of his two-bedroom apartment is now $2,100, a figure which is well above the national median of $1,406, according to a new report from Retirement Living, an Oklahoma-based retirement planning company. 

“It is very hard right now,” Carrizalez told Floricua. “We all have a budget, and when costs go up like this, you have to take that money from other parts of your budget to make ends meet. That means that maybe you’ll have to scrimp on groceries, and going out to dinner or to a movie is an effort.” 

Despite its reputation as a retirement destination, rising rent costs continue to impact older Floridians, with approximately 35% of seniors in the Sunshine State moving due to rising rent prices, according to the US Census data.

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Together with states like New Mexico, New Hampshire, and Virginia, this year Florida saw the highest percentages of seniors affected by rent hikes. The reason is that the state’s median rent of $1,719, combined with a senior poverty rate of 12.1%, is making it increasingly difficult for residents 65+ and older – who make up roughly one-fifth of the state’s population – to afford housing.

Additionally, a 2023 report by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies shows that seniors aged 65 and older are the fastest-growing demographic facing homelessness. 

High rents and quality of life

In Broward County alone, there is an estimated shortage of nearly 73,000 affordable houses, and a 74,000-unit gap of affordable rental apartments. At the same time, rents rose by almost 39% between 2021 and 2022 alone, with the average rent being $2,693 last year, according to county records. In fact, county officials say there has been a whopping 70.5% rent increase since 2016. 

“Seniors are not retiring with enough of a nest egg to afford to live in Broward County unless they are living in a home that’s paid off,” said Ralph Stone, Broward County’s director of the Housing Finance Division.

And the high cost of rent can not only make or break seniors’ financial security but affect their overall wellbeing as well. A report from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies found that, after accounting for housing costs, just 14% of seniors living alone can afford daily visits from health aides, and only 13% could move to assisted living without depleting their savings.

Looking for solutions 

Broward Mayor Nan Rich, in her annual “State of the County” address for 2024, said $3 million was recently allotted to build a 92-unit senior housing project in unincorporated Broward, near Fort Lauderdale.

Similarly, the city of Miramar is helping to build a five-story, 110-unit affordable housing development for seniors in Miramar that will open in the second quarter of 2025. Affordable senior housing in Fort Lauderdale is scheduled to begin construction in late 2025.

But these projects, helpful as they promise to be, don’t begin to ameliorate Florida’s growing housing crisis. 

“Hard as I try, I can’t find anything at a price I can afford,” Flora González, a nanny in West Kendall, told Floricua. “In some places the owner charges whatever he wants; there is no cap, no control. It has come to the point where you wonder if you can stay in this city.”

RELATED: Hurricane fallout: Florida housing sales drop, insurance rates rise

In March of 2023, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate President Kathleen Passidomo’s (R-Naples) $711 million affordable housing legislation, a bill that created tax exemptions for developments that set aside at least 70 units for affordable housing and sped permits and development orders for affordable housing projects, among other measures.

However, the bill also barred local rent controls. For this reason, some Democrats, among them Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando), have expressed concerns that while the new housing legislation offers partial relief, it is not enough. 

“The Republicans created this crisis,” House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell told Floricua last year during a one-on-one interview. “Instead of ensuring that there is affordable workforce housing, [Republicans] choose to focus on these culture wars,” such as DeSantis’ Stop WOKE Act – which restricts school districts, colleges, and universities from discussing certain race-related concepts – as well as his efforts to eliminate protections for the LGBTQ communities. 

“What is happening in my state is very sad,” said Anamari Costoya, a retired hairdresser from Coral Gables. “I don’t care for partisan issues. This is a human problem. We Floridians who work and live here are the ones who are suffering.”