BILL PROVIDES A CHEAPER MOVE-IN OPTION FOR RENTERS

Mooney legislation passes the House

JIM McCARTHY jim@keysweekly.com

Fronting thousands of dollars in move-in expenses can be challenging for working families or a single person needing a place to live sooner than later.

In the Florida Keys, a required first and last months’ rent — seemingly rising by the year as housing costs increase — on top of a security deposit can seem insurmountable.

State Rep. Jim Mooney’s House Bill 133, which passed through the House on April 20, seeks to address some of those issues through an option for a monthly fee in lieu of a security deposit that the landlord can offer a tenant.

Mooney’s bill, which failed to pass through the state legislature last session, doesn’t require a landlord to provide a tenant the option to pay a nominal, monthly fee. Per Mooney, those fees can be as low as $11 a month or upward of $25 monthly. It’s the landlord’s sole choice to offer such an arrangement for a tenant to pay a monthly fee to secure occupancy without dipping into their savings to pay a full security deposit upfront.

Tenants would still be required to pay the full security deposit once they have the means, as the monthly fee wouldn’t go toward that expense. Funds paid monthly by the tenant can be used by the landlord at their discretion, such as for insurance or a surety bond.

Following a serious accident involving his fiancée just a week before, Mooney traveled to Tallahassee to present his bill before the full House on April 20. Mooney told fellow members that the bill places