Florida Housing and Governor DeSantis Celebrate Housing Gains

Florida Housing and Governor DeSantis Celebrate Housing Gains Provided by Innovative Housing Resources 

Tallahassee, FL- The Florida Housing Finance Corporation (Florida Housing) is proud to announce this year’s numerous housing accomplishments under the leadership and vision of Governor Ron DeSantis.  

“Florida Housing is grateful to the Governor’s continued commitment and support of affordable housing programs including the launch of Florida’s $250 million Coronavirus Relief Fund,” said Trey Price, Executive Director of Florida Housing Finance Corporation. “2020 has certainly been a difficult year for many Florida families, and Governor DeSantis - in partnership with Florida Housing - remains dedicated to helping Floridians with homeownership and rental assistance using the financial resources entrusted to us.” 

Notable 2020 accomplishments: 

Legislative Funding 

For the second year in a row, Governor Ron DeSantis recommended full funding for the affordable housing trust funds ($387 million). Between state and federal resources, Florida Housing received $395 million, and Florida Housing applauds his efforts.  

Florida Housing’s appropriation goes towards the following: 

• State Housing Trust Fund 

• $115 million for multifamily programs including, the State Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL) Program and Community Workforce Housing Loan Program (CWHLP) and grants for housing for people with Developmental Disabilities; 
• $20 million for Hurricane Housing Recovery Program (HHRP) - similar to the State Housing Initiative Partnership (SHIP) program; and 
• $10 million in down payment assistance in Hurricane Michael impacted areas. 
• Florida Housing awarded $1 million to Building Homes for Heroes, a non-profit organization, to build, modify, or transfer 25 homes for veterans who were seriously injured while serving in the line of duty. The homes are gifted mortgage free to the veterans and their families. 

• Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act  

• $250 million Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act relief funding for rental and mortgage assistance for Florida families that have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Coronavirus Relief Fund 

• Launched in July, Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida Housing announced the $250 million Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) Program to assist Floridians impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily with rental and mortgage assistance.  
• The funding breakdown and updates are as follows: 
• Strategy 1- $120 million for Rental Assistance for Tenants in Florida Housing’s Portfolio 

• To date, a total of 623 affordable multifamily rental housing developments in Florida Housing’s portfolio have responded to the Invitation to Participate (ITP) in the program. 
• They indicate with this funding they will be able to provide assistance to nearly 12,000 rental households in Florida.   

• Strategy 2- $120 million for Rental and Mortgage Assistance for Homeowners and Renters to Local Government SHIP Housing Offices 

• To date, more than $125 million has been disbursed to local governments statewide. 
• To date, local governments have been able to assist 11,957 households with rental or mortgage assistance plus another 5,729 are scheduled to be assisted by the end of the month, with this number growing daily. 

• Strategy 3- $2 million for Operations Assistance for Housing that Serves Persons with Special Needs or Homeless Households 

• To date, 32 rental developments (representing 2,101 units) in Florida Housing’s portfolio responded to the Invitation to Participate (ITP) for the program. 
• Financial assistance will be provided to these developments to assist them with coronavirus related expenses including extra staffing and cleaning services and supplies that will help keep their residents with special needs healthy during the pandemic. 

Homeownership  

• Assisted 2,781 Florida homebuyers in purchasing their first home; 
• Provided more than $438.5 million in first mortgage loans; 
• Provided more than $21.5 million in down payment assistance (DPA); 
• Salute Our Soldiers, an active military and veteran loan program announced in early 2020, has provided 311 loans, $73.8 million in first mortgage loans and $1.8 million in DPA since its inception; and  
• The Homeownership Pool (HOP) Program, assists developers by matching qualified homebuyers with DPA on a first-come, first-served basis. There are currently 44 builders participating in the program, 108 borrowers have participated to date with $2,642,523 in DPA provided.  

Rental Housing 

• Awarded 116 developments with funding to build rental housing across the state; 
• A total of 13,406 units in developments awarded funding; and  
• Funding for these developments totaled $693,376,520 in loans/grants and $143,780,162 in annual housing credit allocations. 

State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) Program 

• For the 2020 closeout report on funding appropriated in fiscal year 2017/2018, more than $94 million disbursed by Florida Housing to local governments statewide was used to assist more than 5,400 households with rehabilitation, emergency repairs, down payment assistance, homeownership counseling, new construction, down payment and closing cost assistance, impact fees and mortgage buy-downs. 

Hurricane Michael Housing Recovery  

• $20 million for Hurricane Housing Recovery Program (HHRP) appropriated this past legislative session is being disbursed to 13 local governments in the Hurricane Michael impacted areas. 
• $10 million for down payment assistance relaunching the Hurricane Michael Recovery Loan Program in 11 impacted counties in the Panhandle; providing 1,094 loans, $105 million in first mortgage loans and over $8.1 million in down payment assistance. 

Supportive Housing 

• Florida Housing expanded the Housing Stability for Homeless Schoolchildren Initiative from the first pilot site in Santa Rosa County to a total of five counties in 2020.  In addition to Santa Rosa County, Alachua, Bay, Charlotte and Hernando Counties now administer the Initiative for homeless schoolchildren and their families. The Housing Stability for Homeless Schoolchildren Initiative pairs Florida Housing’s HOME funding for short-term rental assistance wrap-around community-based services and support to help homeless families with school age children in rural and smaller communities to successfully regain housing stability and greater self-sufficiency, as well as keep the children on track with their education.   
• Selected applications for financing the development of nearly 400 units of permanent supportive housing around the state.  These include permanent supportive housing for persons with developmental disabilities in Tallahassee, veterans with disabilities in Seminole, and homeless elders in Miami-Dade. 

Florida Housing was created by the Legislature 40 years ago. We are the state’s housing finance agency (HFA) that administers state and federal resources to help provide affordable homeownership and rental housing options for the citizens of Florida. For more information, please visit www.floridahousing.org. 

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