Jul 11, 2024
Affordable housing is a lifeline for many U.S. seniors struggling to get by on fixed retirement incomes.
But that lifeline is not indefinite. It can be hoisted up or dropped down, as one senior living community in South Florida recently found out the hard way.
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When Tucker Tower opened in Palmetto Bay in March 2024, local seniors and community leaders were thrilled. The 120-unit building is designed specifically to give older Floridians access to affordable housing.
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But within a few short months, residents had already been alerted to a rent increase on July 1, in some cases by as much as $138 a month.
Tucker Tower resident Georgina Milhet told CBS News she couldn’t sleep after the rent hike notice mid-way through her lease, adding: “I'm on the verge of crying… what was done is not fair.”
But the Housing Trust Group, which owns and operates the affordable housing community, said the notice was delivered by the book and according to federal regulation. Here’s what happened.
Miami-Dade median income
Tucker Tower celebrated its grand opening on March 4 — and just 57 days later, on April 30, the management team posted a flyer for residents, giving them 60-day notice of a rent hike.
The flyer, obtained by CBS News, read: “This is to notify you that due to an increase in the area median gross income (AMGI) published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, there will be an increase in your monthly rental rate… effective July 1, 2024.”
Per the news outlet, senior residents living in Tucker Tower had a section in their lease contracts pertaining to “units participating in government-regulated affordable housing programs.” That section states: “If the AMGI increases during the lease term, [the] owner may, at its sole discretion, increase the rent to the maximum allowable amount based on the new AMGI.”
In Miami-Dade County, where Tucker Tower is located, the AMGI as of April 1, 2024, is $79,400 — up 6.29% from $74,700 in 2023.
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Using that income midpoint, an extremely low income (30% of AMI) for a one- or two-person household in Miami-Dade would be $23,850 or $27,250, respectively.
According to the Tucker Tower flyer of proposed rent hikes, a one-bed, one-bath apartment for residents at 30% AMI would cost $618 a month, while a two-bed, two-bath apartment would cost $731 a month, as of July 1. While that’s still a lot cheaper than the average Miami rent, many residents — including Milhet — were anxious about how to squeeze an extra $100 or more out of their fixed retirement incomes.
Some of the seniors living in Tucker Tower claim they were not aware of — or did not understand — the rent increase provision in their contracts. Milhet said she was so “desperate to get in the building” that she overlooked that vital detail.
Regardless, it would be reasonable not to expect a rent increase within a few months of signing an annual lease at an affordable living facility — that’s the tune that Miami-Dade County District 9 Commissioner Kionne McGhee took when taking on the Home Trust Group on the residents’ behalf.
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A win for the residents
McGhee told CBS News he spent nearly two months examining the contracts of distressed Tucker Tower residents and seeing how his office could help resolve the issue.
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"I felt it was unjust,” he said of the almost-immediate rent increases. “I hold firm that the residents should win in this issue.”
Home Trust Group president and CEO, Matthew Rieger, issued a written statement to CBS News explaining why the company chose to increase the rent — and reiterating that the move was “completely regulated.”
“The federally mandated timeframe for rent increases is generally July 1, with few exceptions, as is the case in this situation,” the statement read. “The increase must occur on July 1, irrelevant of when the individual leased the apartment. We do not have the option to say to individuals who leased in January of this year that they will receive an increase next January. Regulations do not permit us to do that. We have to realize increases when we are told, and to the amount specified by HUD, when all LIHTC owners are doing so.”
After releasing that statement — and getting a lot of heat from residents — the affordable housing firm reversed its decision about raising the rent during this lease term. McGhee confirmed: “The residents will not see an increase in their rate…A letter will be sent out notifying them of such.”
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Bethan Moorcraft is a reporter for Moneywise with experience in news editing and business reporting across international markets.
