New Plan Seeks to Increase Affordable Housing in Miami

The rent is just too high for a lot of people living in South Florida. In Miami, many renters spend at least half of their paychecks on housing. And consider this: The median household income for people in the city of Miami is $34,000. The average rent is around $1,800 across apartment sizes. That would cost someone making an average income two-thirds of their paycheck before taxes.

The City of Miami ordered a study about a year ago to help solve its housing affordability crisis, and that plan was released this week by the Jorge M. Perez Metropolitan Center at FIU. Among its goals, the plan seeks to create a bank focused on affordable housing, change permitting and local zoning codes and push to get thousands of new affordable housing units over the next decade.