The situation with affordable housing in areas of southern Florida, USA, such as Miami and the surrounding area, is scandalous. Local media reports that there are owners who are taking advantage of the current crisis and renting or renting out washing machine spaces with activated mattresses or cabinets for more than a thousand dollars a month.
According to a report from Miami station 23, South Florida continues to face an affordable housing and high rent crisis. Some families were displaced from their homes, while others were forced to seek shelter in other regions.
Faced with this situation, there are people who have chosen to rent the space for the washing machine or a closet and put up a curtain to have some privacy, in other houses at cheaper, although equally expensive prices for that, what you rent.
This was reported by Fransua Hayek, who has rented a studio apartment in Doral for six years. In 2017, he was paying $1,665 per month, but now he’s being charged $2,387, a nearly 45 percent increase. “Almost all of my income goes toward rent,” he said.
Rent crisis in Miami: more expensive, less space
Fransua is not the only one suffering from this situation. According to the report, he witnessed his neighbors being evicted because they couldn’t pay their rent. Some even had to share small rooms with other people in order to live.
“The owner lives in the three-bedroom apartments and rents two rooms, and I met someone who rented the washer and dryer area and put a shower curtain on it,” Fransua said.
On social media last week, a Cuban user pointed out that he rented a customized closet in Miami for more than a thousand dollars. “Well, so you can see how things are going. This is a closet converted into a “room,” he pointed out.
Economist Tulio Rodríguez explained that this phenomenon is due to the high demand for real estate in South Florida, driven by the constant arrival of immigrants and foreign investments.
“When there is very high demand for property, the very fact that there is demand increases pricing pressure,” he explained.
