The bill is a Florida Realtors Legislative Priority for 2024 and also includes reforms to the Local Housing Act. Funding for the Hometown Heroes Housing Program will begin on July 1.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law an amendment to the Live Local Act of 2023, providing an additional $100 million in funding for the Hometown Heroes Housing Program (HHHP), which provides interest-free down payment and closing cost assistance mortgages to full-time working Floridians who meet income requirements.
HHHP financial support will inject new funds into a program that was very successful when it launched and ran out of funding within two months. New HHHP funds will be available after July 1.
Amendments to last year’s Live Local Act legislation continue to provide flexibility for local governments to encourage and promote affordable housing development. In general, the new law:
- Modifies parking reduction requirements for eligible development by requiring local governments to reduce parking requirements by 20% under certain circumstances.
- Amends certain provisions regarding zoning and land use preferences for approving affordable multifamily rental developments.
- Provides that nothing in this Act shall prevent a local government from granting bonuses, variances, conditional uses, or other special exceptions to height, density, or floor area ratio in addition to any required rights.
- Appropriates $100 million of nonrecurring funds from the General Revenue Fund to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation to implement the Florida Hometown Heroes program.
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