What Would A Democratic Midterm Win Do For Florida Renters Rights?

The landlord has rights too, but they do not come at a tenant’s expense. They can also negotiate additions when speaking to a potential renter. For example, renters insurance is not required by law in Florida, but your landlord might require it. They cannot spring it on a current tenant, even if they can write it into the lease with a tenant’s agreement.

In other words, rental laws in Florida are mostly fair. What progressive voters are hoping for is additional legislation for things like rent control. This could level the playing field somewhat. But will it happen?

Let’s take a look at what we might expect from a Democratic midterm win in terms of renters rights.

Being Progressive Doesn’t Pay

Unfortunately, if you're hoping for some major moves in a progressive direction, you will be disappointed. The reality is that the Democratic party has recently made an art of being as neutral as possible. While there are some radical progressives who want to overhaul the system, most candidates recognize that this approach is unlikely to win them votes.

This is especially true in a swing state like Florida. In order to win, candidates need to appeal to more than their core constituency. If Democrats do flip Florida, they may owe their win in part to the extremism and partisanship of DeSantis. There is no doubt that he has alienated moderate voters.

It is also pertinent to remember that no matter how progressive a candidate, they still receive funding from big donors. The people who would benefit most from rent control are not funding electoral campaigns.

But this is not the only reason rent control is unlikely.

Rent Control is Rare

Even in states that have been under Democratic leadership for many years, rent control is rare. It is only in place statewide in Oregon and California. Just six states in total have any regions with rent control. It is unlikely that Florida will become the seventh.

For what it is worth, there is rationale behind a lack of rent control. Most economists agree that rent control decreases both the quality and quantity of rentals available. Landlords have less incentive to improve their apartments and property developers do not see enough opportunity to justify working on new developments.

This is not to say that rent control does not help people. Those who are able to find places to rent do not have to deal with high rent or unreasonable increases. If there is enough housing available in a city, rent control will not make it harder for people to rent. But it does stifle the rental economy which could lead to systemic problems down the line.

What Could Happen?

So, if Democrats win in Florida, what could reasonably be expected to happen in terms of renters rights? Don’t expect any sort of overhaul of the current system. The reality is that an overhaul may not be necessary.

Will any individual laws change? We may see some alterations to eviction laws but rent control and other big changes are highly unlikely.

But that does not mean there won’t be any benefit to renters. Under the current leadership, there is far too high a possibility that laws will be passed that benefit landlords at the cost of tenants. Voting in a Democratic leadership may be worthwhile just for the sake of stopping this kind of legislation.