Quick Answer: The Live Local Act (SB 102, 2023) requires Florida counties and cities to approve multifamily and mixed-use housing administratively, without rezoning, a comprehensive plan amendment, or a public hearing, on any commercial, industrial, or mixed-use parcel when at least 40% of units are affordable to households at or below 120% of area median income for 30 years. Qualifying projects get the highest density, 150% of the highest floor area ratio, and the tallest height allowed within a mile. A property tax exemption of 75% or 100% applies to qualifying units. The fourth version of the law, HB 1389, took effect July 1, 2026, adding church and public land as eligible sites and blocking setback-based height limits.
The Core Preemption
Originally adopted in 2023 in response to the state’s housing crisis, the Live Local Act preempts local zoning regulations for qualifying developments that include at least 40% affordable housing at or below 120% of Area Median Income. The law allows multifamily housing to be developed on commercial, industrial, or mixed-use zoned land without requiring rezoning or comprehensive plan amendments, and mandates administrative approval for qualifying projects.
The Act has been amended every session since. The Florida Legislature enacted the Live Local Act (Senate Bill 102) in 2023, to promote affordable housing by preempting certain local zoning and land use regulations. The Act has since been amended by Senate Bill 328, in 2024; Senate Bill 1730, in 2025; and subsequent House Bill 1389, in 2026. The 2026 update passed near-unanimously: 98 to 4 in the House, 35 to 0 in the Senate.
| Version | Bill | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | SB 102 | July 1, 2023 |
| 2.0 | SB 328 | May 2024 |
| 3.0 | SB 1730 | July 1, 2025 |
| 4.0 | HB 1389 | July 1, 2026 |
Qualifying Project Requirements
As in prior versions of the Act, qualifying projects must reserve at least 40 percent of residential units as affordable rental units for a period of at least 30 years. For mixed-use residential projects, at least 65 percent of total square footage must be residential, but local governments may not require more than 10 percent of total square footage to be nonresidential. Affordability is measured at 120% AMI or below, and the affordable units are rental only; condominiums do not qualify for the preemption.
Eligible Sites After 2026
The 2026 law widened where the preemption applies. Under the 2026 Live Local Act, counties and municipalities must authorize qualifying multifamily and mixed-use residential uses in the following locations: areas zoned for commercial, industrial or mixed use; portions of flexibly zoned areas, such as planned unit developments (PUDs); property owned by a county, municipality or school district; and property owned by a religious institution that comprises more than 3 acres, has contained a house of public worship for at least 10 years before the proposed development, and will continue to operate as a house of public worship after construction. For public or church land, the owner must co-sign the application.
The definitions were also rewritten to shut down a common local defense. A parcel zoned to permit commercial or industrial uses by right is considered a commercial or industrial use for purposes of the Act, irrespective of the local land development regulation’s listed category or title. That fix is retroactive to January 1, 2024. Excluded from the definitions are home-based businesses, cottage food operations, accessory uses, recreational uses inside residential areas such as golf courses and clubhouses, and farm operations.
Height, Density, and FAR Preemption
Height
A local government may not restrict the height of a qualifying development below the highest currently allowed or allowed on July 1, 2023, for a commercial or residential building within 1 mile of the proposed development or 3 stories, whichever is higher. The benchmark excludes heights that came from another Live Local project, a bonus, a variance, or a special exception.
The 2024 amendments added a single-family buffer: where a site is adjacent on two or more sides to single-family zoning with 25 or more contiguous homes, the local government may cap height at 150% of the tallest adjacent building or three stories, whichever is higher.
The 2026 amendments close the setback loophole. Counties and municipalities may not restrict authorized height through other dimensional controls, such as height-based setbacks or stepbacks, or require setbacks or stepbacks that are more restrictive than the minimum permitted for the proposed development.
Density and FAR
Local governments may not restrict density below the highest density allowed anywhere in the jurisdiction, and, since 2024, may not restrict floor area ratio below 150% of the highest FAR allowed in the jurisdiction. Subsequent amendments in 2024 and 2025 clarified and expanded these provisions, including protections for single-family zoning areas, preemption of floor area ratio (FAR) limitations, and increases in mandatory parking reductions from 10% to 15%.
| Standard | What locals must allow |
|---|---|
| Density | Highest in jurisdiction |
| FAR | 150% of highest in jurisdiction |
| Height | Tallest within 1 mile, or 3 stories |
| Parking | At least 15% cut near transit |
| Review | Administrative, no hearing |
Administrative Approval: What “By Right” Means
If a project meets the affordability, site, and use criteria, the local government must approve it administratively. No rezoning, no land-use plan amendment, no special exception, and no quasi-judicial hearing before a commission or council. The project must still comply with the jurisdiction’s other land development regulations for multifamily housing, such as landscaping, stormwater, and building code, and it must be processed in the same manner as any other multifamily application.
Local governments that resist face a new remedy. The legislation significantly expands enforcement under the Florida Fair Housing Act by broadening the definition of “person” to include governmental entities, prohibiting discrimination in land-use and permitting decisions based on the source of financing for a development or proposed development, including affordable housing financing and waiving sovereign immunity for certain causes of action under Section 760.35, Florida Statutes. Available relief may include injunctive and equitable relief, actual and punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees and costs.
Areas Excluded From Preemption
The 2026 amendments add or clarify the following exclusions from the Act’s applicability: airport-impacted areas, including specified runway areas, airport noise zones and developments exceeding airport zoning height restrictions; recreational and commercial working waterfront in industrial areas; the Wekiva Study Area; the Everglades Protection Area; certain open-space, park and open-use zoning districts that were in existence before July 1, 2026; areas of critical state concern; and portions of property encumbered by a recorded conservation easement.
Property Tax Exemption Tiers
The Act’s financial engine is the “missing middle” ad valorem exemption under § 196.1978(3). Projects with at least 71 units (10 or more in the Florida Keys) that hold units affordable for households at or below 120% AMI, with rent capped at the lower of 30% of the income limit or 90% of fair market rent, receive:
| Unit affordability level | Exemption on assessed value |
|---|---|
| At or below 80% AMI | 100% |
| 80% to 120% AMI | 75% |
Units must be certified annually by the Florida Housing Finance Corporation and the exemption is claimed with the county property appraiser by March 1. Land leased to a nonprofit for affordable housing can qualify for a separate full exemption.
Counties and cities may opt out of the 80–120% tier, but only when state data shows a surplus of affordable units, and the 2026 law makes that harder. This new three-year lookback standard dramatically raises the bar for opt-outs and appears specifically designed to preserve broad statewide availability of the exemption. In practical terms, relatively few Florida jurisdictions are likely to satisfy this requirement.
Developers also gained vesting. Projects that obtain a building permit before a future opt-out becomes effective may preserve exemption eligibility for several years afterward. The 2026 tax changes first apply to the 2027 tax roll.
Transition Rules for Pending Projects
Applicants with applications, written requests or notices of intent received by a local government before July 1, 2026, may notify the local government by that date of their intent to proceed under the version of the statute in effect at the time of submittal. Local governments must also allow such applicants to submit revised applications, written requests or notices of intent to account for the 2026 changes.
Practical Steps for Developers and Land-Use Counsel
- Confirm the parcel’s by-right uses, not its zoning label, since the retroactive 2026 definition controls.
- Map every building within one mile and pull the height allowed on July 1, 2023, to fix the height benchmark.
- Check the single-family adjacency test on all sides before assuming full height.
- Screen for the exclusion list, especially airport noise contours and conservation easements.
- Structure the affordable 40% to hit the 80% AMI tier where the 100% exemption pencils better than market rent.
- Record the 30-year affordability covenant and calendar the annual Florida Housing certification.
- Pull building permits early to lock in tax-exemption vesting against any future local opt-out.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Consult a Florida land-use attorney about a specific site or application.
Sources and Further Reading
- Holland & Knight, “Live Local 4.0: 2026 Updates to Florida’s Live Local Act,” July 29, 2026 – https://www.hklaw.com/en/insights/publications/2026/07/2026-updates-to-floridas-live-local-act
- Miami-Dade County, “2026 Live Local Act Update Memorandum,” Mar. 25, 2026 – https://www.miamidade.gov/resources/economy/zoning/documents/2026-03-25-live-local-act-update-memo.pdf
- Shutts & Bowen, “Live Local Act Amendment: March 2026” – https://www.shutts.com/news-Live-Local-Act-Amendment-March-2026
- BBG, “2026 Live Local Act Updates Create New Opportunities for Florida Multifamily Development,” May 2026 – https://bbgres.com/2026-live-local-act-updates-create-new-opportunities-for-florida-multifamily-development/
- Tax Credit Advisor, “The Live Local Act Finds Its Footing,” Aug. 2026 – https://www.taxcreditadvisor.com/articles/live-local-act-2026-update/
- Urbanize Miami, “Florida’s Live Local Act Enters New Phase With 2026 Amendments,” May 2026 – https://miami.urbanize.city/post/floridas-live-local-act-enters-new-phase-2026-amendments-expanding-state-control-over
- City of Fort Myers, Live Local Act Information page – https://fortmyers.gov/2292/Live-Local-Act-Information
- Discover South Florida, “Florida Expands Live Local Act, Opening More Land for Housing,” July 2026 – https://www.discoversouthflorida.com/blog/the-2026-live-local-act-update-explained
- Florida Statutes § 125.01055, § 166.04151, and § 196.1978 – http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/
- Florida Housing Finance Corporation, Live Local Act resources – https://www.floridahousing.org/live-local-act
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