Housing on the Ballot Nationwide: Florida Voters Approve Raising the Homestead Exemption to $250,000; Rent Caps Pass in Berkeley and Other Cities
TALLAHASSEE — Housing measures on the November 3 midterm ballot produced results across the United States, led by Florida, where voters approved Amendment 3 with about 62 percent in favor, sharply raising the homestead property-tax exemption for owner-occupants.
Unofficial returns put the yes vote at about 4,918,979 ballots, or 61.98 percent, clearing the 60 percent threshold required for a constitutional amendment. Under the approved text, the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes rises to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, with inflation adjustments from 2029, while the annual assessment cap on non-homestead property tightens from 10 percent to 5 percent. The amendment takes effect on January 1, 2027. For comparison, the current non-school portion of the exemption is just $25,000.
Rent-regulation measures advanced at several Bay Area ballots in California. Berkeley's Measure X passed, with about 69 percent voting yes, capping annual rent increases at 10 percent, tightening exemptions under the city's rent ordinance and curbing deferred "banked" increases. In Cudahy, in Los Angeles County, voters approved a measure strengthening the city's rent stabilization ordinance, under which raising the current 3 percent annual cap will require voter approval. San Pablo's Measure S passed, capping annual increases at the lesser of 3 percent or 60 percent of inflation. But the trend was not one-directional: Redwood City's Measure E, which would have created local rent control, was rejected, as was Salinas's Measure H, which would have repealed that city's rent ordinances.
Housing-finance measures passed elsewhere: Hawaii's Question 2 authorizes counties to issue housing infrastructure bonds; Rhode Island voters approved a $120 million affordable-housing bond; a tenant right-to-repair initiative passed in St. Paul, Minnesota, letting tenants make certain repairs after 14 days' written notice and deduct the cost from rent; and two tenant-protection measures passed in Akron, Ohio. A few measures, including Santa Monica's Measure RR, remained pending.
Taken together, voters answered housing costs mainly with tax relief and new funding: Florida used a constitutional amendment to deliver one of the largest homestead tax breaks in years, several states turned to bonds for affordable housing, and rent caps gained ground in parts of the Bay Area even as voters elsewhere declined to adopt them.
(Source: National Apartment Association)
Reference: Florida Division of Elections, Ballotpedia
Source: National Apartment Association
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 佛罗里达州议会大厦（新旧两栋），位于州府 Tallahassee。图：F McGady，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。
