3.1: Accelerate housing development to meet growing need

Issue Statement and Context

Greater Miami consistently ranks as one of the least affordable metropolitan areas in the nation, and as one of the most rent-burdened. Surveyed residents regularly cite housing as one of the primary issues they would like their government to address to improve their quality of life and ability to thrive in our community.

According to Miami Homes for All’s July 2020 Miami-Dade Affordable Housing Framework, approximately 50% of all households in our community are cost-burdened as of 2018, and 250,000 of these households (30% of total households) earn less than $35,000 per year and pay more than they can afford for their rent or mortgage. Miami-Dade was also ground zero for the 2007 housing bubble, which deeply impacted this community’s economy and hampered the ability of many to build generational wealth. Housing affordability has again faced a major shock in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

New affordable housing construction is moving forward at a rapid pace. In 2019, the County projected that it was on track to close on at least 14,000 units by the end of November 2020.

Data from the University of Miami’s Office of Civic and Community Engagement showed that the County is on track to build twice the number of affordable housing units that was built in the last ten years in almost half the time – 11,000 units between 2020 and 2025, a unit count that previously took ten years to generate.

This accelerated development is due to the use of the federal Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program, which will allow the County to renovate or redevelop its aging public housing sites into new mixed-income, mixed-use communities. Through the program, 6,400 units of public housing will be redeveloped, with funding to sustain maintenance for the long-term.

In order to meet the demand for new affordable homes, and to ensure that our County’s economy is able to sustain itself and grow, private sector-led development will also be important. Several tools and incentives exist that make such development more feasible. Recent amendments to the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit program have increased that program’s subsidy by at least 25%, boosting its utility to private developers. New modifications to the Section 8 Project-Based Vouchers program, made possible by the 2016 Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act, allow for greater usage of these vouchers, helping to fill gaps in construction financing.

The County recently lifted an artificial cap on the sales price of the Infill Housing Program, which will allow the Department of Public Housing and Community Development (PHCD) to generate thousands of new affordable homeownership opportunities.

Detailed Action Summary

Boost the supply of affordable housing across the County.

Establish a new ambitious housing goal to have at least 14,000 affordable rental and homeownership units in financial closing by the end of 2022. PHCD will provide quarterly progress updates on meeting the target goal, including population and income level served. PHCD will also explore expanding the existing Miami-Dade County Housing Affordability Tracker, which displays planned, ongoing, and completed housing development projects by population served.
Partner with localities, civic institutions, and residents to create a framework for developing housing on underused public and institutional-owned land. This cross-sector effort will build upon existing collaborations, including the School Board and the faith-based community that are already yielding hundreds of new units of housing on land not traditionally used for affordable housing.
Partner with the nonprofit and private sectors, including major employers, to better leverage innovative funding streams for affordable housing.

3.1: Accelerate housing development to meet growing need

Issue Statement and Context

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Detailed Action Summary