TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Affordability remains the top concern for Floridians, but state lawmakers wrapped up the 2026 legislative session with little to show for it, as several high-profile housing and insurance proposals failed to pass.
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Lawmakers entered the session facing mounting pressure to address rising housing costs, soaring property insurance premiums and overall cost-of-living concerns. But efforts to provide relief largely stalled in Tallahassee, leaving residents still grappling with financial strain.
Among the measures that failed was HB 319/SB 366, which aimed to reduce property insurance costs. Another proposal, HB 675/SB 756, sought to preserve long-term affordability by requiring certain rental units to remain affordable for 50 years instead of 30. Lawmakers also rejected HB 703, a bill that would have required mobile home park owners to justify rent increases.
State Rep. Paula Stark, who is behind legislation focused on mobile home affordability, said the issue is deeply personal and driven by concerns from residents in her district.
“This is really what we want to get passed, but we just keep having to push it away,” Stark said.
Stark said her constituents in St. Cloud, many of whom she knows personally, have raised concerns about rising lot rents in mobile home parks, prompting her to pursue legislative solutions. Despite this year’s setbacks, she said she plans to continue pushing similar measures in future sessions.
While broad affordability reforms failed, lawmakers are now looking to a potential property tax cut proposal championed by the governor as a possible path to relief. However, no final agreement was reached before the session ended, raising the likelihood of a special session or a ballot initiative.
Political analysts say the lack of progress reflects both the complexity of the issue and the limits of state-level solutions.
Rick Mullaney, executive director of the Public Policy Institute at Jacksonville University, said affordability has become a dominant political issue heading into upcoming elections.
“Affordability has become the topic. It is number one,” Mullaney said. “The challenge is what can you do?”
Mullaney noted that while state lawmakers can attempt to ease costs through targeted policies, such as addressing insurance or helping specific groups like seniors and first-time homebuyers, broader economic forces remain outside their control.
“A lot of the criticism of the legislators in Tallahassee on the affordability issue is a little bit unfair,” he said. “The biggest component of this affordability challenge is prices and rising prices and inflation, and that is really limited in what Tallahassee can do. The bigger tools are in Washington.”
Stark echoed that sentiment, describing affordability as a complicated issue with no easy solutions.
“I think affordability is kind of on everybody’s mind,” she said. “It’s just really, really difficult to find all the right parts that can get pushed through.”
Despite the broader failures, Stark pointed to one legislative win. Lawmakers approved House Bill 267, which allows counties to use State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) funds for lot rental assistance. The change is expected to help mobile homeowners stay in their homes if park owners raise rents.
Meanwhile, action at the federal level could still bring changes. The U.S. Senate recently passed a bipartisan housing bill aimed at improving access and affordability nationwide. The legislation would reduce certain regulations, place limits on corporate investors and expand funding options for affordable housing development.
The bill now heads back to the House, where it faces opposition from some conservatives, leaving its future uncertain.
For now, with state efforts stalled and federal action still pending, many Floridians remain in a holding pattern waiting to see whether relief will come in a special session, at the ballot box or from Washington.