At the Douglas Enclave apartment building in Miami’s Little Havana, developer Henry Torres reduced rents for some of the 199 units without impacting his profits. After completing the project in 2023, Torres lowered annual rates by about $3,000 per unit and compensated for this with a property tax break of roughly $4,500 per reduced unit through Florida’s Live Local Act. This resulted in approximately $450,000 in savings from his $950,000 tax bill for the year.
Torres said that lowering rents helped fill vacancies faster amid ongoing affordability issues in South Florida. “It definitely got a lot more smiles on people’s faces. I can tell you that. People are struggling right now, especially the blue collar class,” said Torres, founder of Coral Gables-based Astor Companies. “It helped us tremendously to get units rented faster.”
South Florida developers have increasingly used the Live Local Act, which encourages landlords to include workforce housing by offering property tax incentives. The law provides a 75 percent tax abatement for apartments reserved for households earning between 80 percent and 120 percent of area median income (AMI), and full tax relief for those below 80 percent AMI.
This year, at least 48 properties across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties qualified for these benefits. Many of these buildings were not originally intended as Live Local projects but were brought under its provisions retroactively to take advantage of the incentives.
Developers say these breaks come at an important time as demand has slowed and costs have increased over the past two years. Matthew Scott, a land use attorney at Greenspoon Marder, explained: “Developers are looking at projects and saying, ‘Alright, property insurance is going up, property taxes are going up. How do we offset things?’ They run the math and Live Local gives the tax benefit, so that’s less money they have to pay.”
Coral Rock Development Group applied the program to its Metropolitan building in Coral Springs after initially planning it as market-rate housing. By designating around 160 out of 204 units for earners up to 120 percent AMI—and charging about $350 less per month than market-rate units—the building achieved full occupancy this fall.
Michael Wohl of Coral Rock said: “We determined through metric analysis that we would accelerate leasing and not lose money. You need to lease-up faster and stabilize faster, so you can be eligible for permanent financing.”
For many suburban areas where market rents align closely with workforce housing rates set by Live Local guidelines—such as Hialeah—the program is especially viable. Of Miami-Dade’s 28 properties receiving abatements this year, most are located outside coastal neighborhoods commanding higher rents.
Carlos Segrera from IMC Equity Group noted that while areas like Coral Gables do not see much benefit due to higher local incomes and rents well above workforce thresholds: “The income demographics are higher… But if the market [rent] is at $3,000 and you can lease it at $2,700 … now the pro-forma pencils.”
Affiliated Development received tax breaks on four properties without reducing rents because their business model already focused on below-market rates. Nick Rojo from Affiliated said: “It was necessary because of the dramatic spike in operating cost. Insurance doubled. Materials… skyrocketed… It really helped offset those costs.”
Landlords pointed out administrative challenges associated with qualifying tenants based on income documentation required by state rules and mentioned that major lenders do not yet recognize Live Local savings when determining loan amounts.
Alex Ruiz from Prestige Companies commented: “Fannie and Freddie… do not recognize Live Local savings… If they were going to give me $10 million for a project… it doesn’t matter to them.”
While these incentives mean lower revenue for local governments reliant on property taxes, developers argue such tools are essential for maintaining service levels while providing affordable options.
Lissette Calderon of Neology Group used Live Local incentives at her No. 17 Residences in Miami’s Allapattah neighborhood to offer one-bedroom apartments below $2,000 monthly—rates she described as rare today—and maintain amenities despite rising expenses: “This has allowed us to continue to maintain the rents we were hoping to maintain and continue that aspirational living to the engines that drive our community,” she said.
Torres acknowledged both renters’ struggles with affordability—many spending half their incomes on housing—and developers’ need for financial sustainability: “I have a lot of sympathy for people struggling but I have to make sure our building makes money,” he said.
