Taking action
In October 2023, King and a group of protesters interrupted a news conference at which Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer announced an expansion of Parramore Oaks.
“My whole protest was about affordable housing and gentrification that are coming to our community. As we continue to live here, they keep going up on our rents, so they make it unaffordable for us to live here — intentionally forcing us out.” she claimed.
Later that week, Paramore Oaks denied King's rent renewal, per News 6, and increased her rent to $1,626 per month. Despite the increase, she continued to pay her rent on time, but, eventually, was served eviction papers.
“This is outrageous,” she said.
King decided to challenge the eviction in court. Her attorney, Ronald Legendre, argued Parramore Oaks had retaliated against King for her protesting.
“During this time, which we feel was during the retaliatory period, they increased her rent,” Legendre told Orange County judge Eric DuBois. The session was recorded on camera.
DuBois ruled her ongoing rent to be $1,079, “because I have no documentation to support anything else.”
So, King was allowed to stay in her home for the time being.
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Read MoreFlorida’s affordable housing crisis
Florida passed new affordable housing legislation in 2023 through the “Live Local Act,” which provides incentives for more affordable housing developments. For housing to be considered “affordable,” household income must be within a percentage of the area median income and rent not in excess of 30% of a tenant's monthly income.
The state has only 25 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 extremely low-income renter households, the National Low Income Housing Coalition reports. According to the nonprofit USAFacts, citing data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the average wait for subsidized housing in Florida as of 2023 was two years and five months — four months longer than the national average.
As for King, while the judge ruled in her favor, the battle may not be over yet. News 6 reports that court testimony indicated King was asked to submit documentation to recertify her for affordable housing, but the judge found Parramore Oaks didn’t submit any proof that had happened. Thus, King may have missed her chance to continue paying decreased rent, and it could go up to the market rate.
“So what’s going to happen is that I will be another person that is displaced — homeless,” she predicted.
Correction, Nov. 19, 2024: The spelling of Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer’s name has been corrected.
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