Florida Governor Seeks End to Property TaxesBy Devin Meenan
Editor’s Note: The RISMedia series Legislative Round-Up looks at pending and passed federal and state-level legislation that impacts real estate professionals.
Road to Housing Act removed from defense bill The Road to Housing Act, a bipartisan comprehensive housing reform bill passed by the U.S. Senate, has met a new roadblock. The bill, previously attached to the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), has been removed from the House version of said omnibus bill. Congressman French Hill (R-AR), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, who previously sponsored the House version of the Road to Housing Act, released a statement reaffirming his commitment to housing affordability reform despite the act’s exclusion from the NDAA. “This month, the Financial Services Committee will advance solutions to tackle housing cost and access challenges for American families, homeowners, and renters. Next year, we look forward to working with our Senate colleagues to send a bill to the president’s desk that reflects the views of both chambers and leads to more affordable choices for America’s homeowners and renters.” Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), ranking Democratic member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs which shepherded the Road to Housing Act, released a statement criticizing Republican leadership, including President Donald Trump, for the removal of the bill from the NDAA. “Donald Trump claims he wants to build more housing and lower housing costs, but his allies in the House just axed a bipartisan bill that unanimously passed the Senate to do just that. The fight to get the Road to Housing Act signed into law isn’t over—but if House Republicans continue to block legislation to cut housing costs in 2026, then Democrats will pass it ourselves when we take back Congress.” Florida looking to reduce, if not axe, property taxes In recent years, Florida has consistently been a popular destination for out-of-state movers. With housing costs a major factor for anyone coming to the Sunshine State, it makes sense that property tax bills are in Florida legislators’ sights. A radical proposal comes straight from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has made clear that his current position is outright ending property taxes in the state. (Such a change would require an amendment to the Florida constitution.) In public statements this year including on social media and to the press, DeSantis has said that property taxes are comparable to a homeowner paying rent on their home to the government. In October 2025, members of the Florida state legislature introduced eight bills designed to lower property taxes. One bill, for instance, exempts homeowners aged 65 and over from paying non-school homestead property taxes. Another adds $200,000 to a property tax exemption for homesteads that have property insurance. Seven of these eight proposals are set to be voted on by the Florida public as ballot initiatives in November 2026. DeSantis, however, has spoken out against this move. In a post on X, he wrote: “Placing more than one property tax measure on the ballot represents an attempt to kill anything on property taxes. It’s a political game, not a serious attempt to get it done for the people.” A new report from Realtor.com® found that, if property taxes in Florida were to be eliminated like DeSantis has proposed, home price values could jump by 7%-9%, representing a financial boost for current homeowners—one that would cost prospective buyers. Vacation homes and rental units would also not be considered exempt from property taxes. According to the report, this could result in landlords passing any new cost burden onto tenants with higher rents. “This measure would disproportionately benefit wealthy Floridians at the expense of those who don’t own homes, and would make it even harder to break into homeownership because of the increased prices,” said Realtor.com Senior Economist Joel Berner in the report. Property taxes, levied and assessed and at a local level, are used to fund schools and community services. The elimination of these taxes would thus affect funding for these services. Additionally, economist Ken Johnson told Realtor.com that eliminating property taxes could, if/when an economic recession hits, drag home prices down (from second homes in Florida being listed in excess) and create a budget crisis for the state. Connecticut housing reform bill signed On Wednesday, November 26, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed a long-debated, comprehensive housing reform bill into law. The bill, intended to create more affordable housing in Connecticut, requires towns across the state to create “growth plans” for how they will achieve more housing. Other changes included in the bill are the expansion of local fair rent commissions, or municipal boards to investigate and ensure fair rent, and the elimination of a minimum amount of off-street parking spaces for smaller developments. Eliminating off-street parking minimums is intended to incentivize construction of more densely packed and walkable communities. The bill saw a bumpy and uncertain path to the governor’s desk. Lamont had vetoed an earlier version back in June 2025, citing concerns from local leaders across Connecticut. The revised version of the bill—though largely similar to the vetoed version—cuts a provision where towns would be assigned a certain number of new housing units to build, and one that would have prioritized funding for towns that made certain zoning changes. In housing industry and data reports, the Northeast often ranks as one of if not the most expensive of the four major census regions. A National Association of Realtors® (NAR) Q3 2025 home prices report found Connecticut’s New Haven and Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk metro areas faced some of the highest price increases in the country, and the latter was one of the most expensive markets overall. These high prices have been attributed to the region (including Connecticut) falling short of adding new housing units, which the now-signed housing reform bill is intended to address within Connecticut. New York City bill could undercut corporate landlords Housing affordability in New York City is in the spotlight of national discourse right now, with Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani having made it a tenet of his campaign. One proposal in the New York City Council right now is the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA). This bill, if passed, would give NYC’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development and other “qualified” entities, including nonprofit buyers, the first opportunity to purchase certain residential buildings when they go up for sale. The bill, the current version of which was first introduced in May 2024, currently has 32 sponsors, and New York-based outlet City Limits has reported the bill is expected to pass by the end of the year. In an October 2025 op-ed published by three NYC council members supporting the bill, they wrote: “Tens of thousands of New Yorkers live in buildings targeted by speculators looking to jack up rents, evict tenants and flip homes for a quick profit. But these same buildings could instead be preserved as stable, affordable housing—something New York desperately needs.” A first offer of sale to government agencies and nonprofits could reduce the power of institutional investors and corporate landlords, who typically can offer quick and large cash offers when a building (both residential multifamily and single-family) goes on the market. Cotality found that, in the first half of 2025, about one-third of home purchases were made by these investors. Smaller landlords in New York City have voiced criticism of COPA, however. As reported by Realtor.com, Small Property Owners of New York Board President Ann Korchak said the bill was “government-engineered interference in private free-market transactions that eliminates negotiation” that would add bureaucracy and disincentivize landlords from listing properties. Korchak estimated properties could be delayed coming onto the market by as much as four months under COPA. Similar laws to COPA have been enacted in San Francisco and Washington, D.C., both of which are more expensive markets than the national average despite these laws’ presence. Supporters argue that D.C.’s lack of new construction is more the culprit there than its Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA), though critics would in turn argue that TOPA and associated bureaucracy disincentivizes that construction. NAR, Kevin Sears back various housing reform bills NAR Immediate Past President Kevin Sears testified before the U.S. House Financial Services committee about the need to cut “red tape” to spur housing construction and various pieces of legislation supported by NAR to accomplish that. The full list of NAR-supported bills mentioned in Sears’ prepared opening remarks, and what they are intended to do, are as follows:
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