Florida Housing Finance Corporation Applauds Governor DeSantis’ Budget Recommendations to Support Affordable Workforce Housing

[Tallahassee, FL] – This week, Governor Ron DeSantis unveiled his Fiscal Year 2024-25 Focus on Florida’s Future budget proposal which includes over $548 million for workforce and affordable housing, marking the sixth year in a row that the Governor has recommended full funding of the state’s affordable housing programs and supports further implementation of the Live Local Act. Of this amount, nearly $448 million has been recommended for programs funded through the State and Local Government Housing Trust Funds, and $100 million for the Hometown Heroes program, which provides down payment and closing cost assistance to Florida’s workforce.

Since taking office, Governor DeSantis has been a strong advocate for affordable workforce housing programs, recognizing that these funds help meet a critical need for Florida’s hardworking families. As the state’s housing finance agency, Florida Housing Finance Corporation successfully implements both state and federal funding to provide safe, quality affordable housing opportunities for hardworking Floridians.

The Focus on Florida’s Future Budget includes the following funding recommendations for Florida Housing’s largest affordable housing programs:

• $89.5 million for housing programs including the State Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL) Program, which leverages millions of dollars in resources to incentivize developers to build more affordable rental properties statewide. Additionally, this year’s budget proposal also includes $150 million for the Live Local SAIL program, which is dedicated to financing innovative approaches to building affordable rental units for Florida’s workforce.
• $208.6 million for the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) Program, which helps local governments fund programs that produce and preserve affordable homeownership and multifamily rental housing.
• $100 million for the third year of the Hometown Heroes Program. This program provides down payment and closing cost assistance to first-time, income-qualified homebuyers so they can purchase a primary residence in the community in which they work and serve.

Florida Housing Finance Corporation (Florida Housing) was created by the state Legislature more than 40 years ago to serve as 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.