Naples considers requiring advance notice for rent increases

City council members are working to finalize a rule for landlords requiring them to give 60-day notice for rent increases.

Rent.com says the average apartment goes for $2,800, which is up 60% from a year ago.

Vice Mayor of the City of Naples, Mike McCabe said, “if you just put yourself in the place of that tenant, this is no longer difficult at all.”

City of Naples Council Member, Raymond Christman said, “I think we need to do what we think is right of this issue for the city of Naples.”

The Naples City Council already read through this ordinance for the first time; this second reading is another step before a final vote. Landlords would have to give 60 days advance notice if a tenant’s rent was going to increase by more than 5%. The average price of rent in Naples is skyrocketing, driving up the prices all around.

City of Naples Council Member, Terry Hutchinson said, “I’m still not ready to support this ordinance.”

Not only is the sudden increase in rent catching many Naples residents by surprise, but so is finding out they only have two to three weeks to find somewhere else to live. Elizabeth Radi is a part of an advocacy group in Collier County and says she’s putting her foot down on these rising prices and the short time people have to find a new place to live.

“They are being told, ‘You have till the end of the month’; a lot of times, that’s less than 14 days’ notice,” Radi said. “That is what is happening quite a bit. I believe that having some type of reinforcement, you know, some type of enforcement, it is good.”

Under the proposed rule, landlords who don’t provide a 60-day notice ahead of a rent increase could face a fine up of to $500 per violation. Radi also says she also believes people who weren’t given at least a 60-day notice before a rent hike and were evicted should have that eviction taken off their record.

In the end, the council decided to review the ordinance separating what’s required for people with year-long leases versus those with short-term agreements.

Radi said, “It doesn’t fix the housing crisis. Nothing short from an act of God would fix that. But it does give them at least some hope.”

“Some type of enforcement needs to happen,” Radi said. “There are too many landlords that just blatantly raise rents without any thought… it’s not a fix for the affordable housing crisis. But what it does is it buys time.”

A similar measure was proposed for the entirety of Collier County in May but was vetoed by county commissioners. Bright Community Trust did a study that found that at least 15% of people living in Naples are “severely cost-burdened.”

If Naples City Council passes the ordinance landlords who violate the 60-day notice could be fined up to $500.