Coral Springs wants to use Federal Funds to help families with rental assistance

Coral Springs, Florida –In order to help low-to-moderate-income families with rental assistance resulting from the rising pandemic-related inflation, Coral Springs is looking to use $935,205 in federal block grant funds.

According to a city memo, up to 250 families in the city whose annual rental increase, under a proposed plan has gone up by more than 5 percent from the start of the pandemic to the present day would be eligible to receive up to $3,600.

“These funds are to assist with financial relief of an ever-growing inflationary housing market,” the memo said. “With this assistance, households will have an opportunity to better prepare for sustainable housing options and to assist in preventing evictions due to rising rental costs.”

Coral Springs city commissioners are scheduled to have a public hearing on the plan.

According to a study, the initiative, if approved, comes as the average rent for an apartment in Coral Springs has gone up by at least 20 percent in the past year.

According to a 2022 Broward County Affordable Housing Needs Assessment report prepared by Florida International University, in the first quarter of 2022, the average one-bedroom apartment in Coral Springs went for $2,195, two-bedroom apartment for $2,591, and three-bedroom apartment for $3,092.

The rent increase is fueled, in large part, by a surge of people who relocated to Florida during the pandemic, as well as rising insurance prices and other home-related expenses.

According to the memo, as part of the rental assistance initiative, another $233,801 would be set aside for planning and administrating the program.

Broward County Minority Builders LLC would assist city staff members in collecting applications and processing income verifications.