Seminole County Commissioners Vote to Opt Out of Live Local Act Tax Exemptions

Seminole County Property Appraiser David Johnson put a stark number before county commissioners last July: if every eligible apartment complex in Seminole claimed the tax break available under Florida's Live Local Act, the county stood to lose an estimated $4 million a year in tax revenue. The board heard him out and voted to walk away.

The Seminole County Board of County Commissioners voted on July 23, 2024, to no longer offer tax exemptions to some developers and property owners under Florida's Live Local Act. The exemptions in question fall under the law's so-called "Missing Middle" provision, which grants up to 75% in tax exemptions to apartment complex developers and owners who reserve units for households earning between 80% and 120% of area median income. In Seminole County, that range covers households making between $54,080 and $81,120 a year.

The central complaint from the dais was not with the law's intent but with its mechanics. Commissioners agreed the Live Local Act is well intentioned but pointed to a fundamental flaw: there is no guarantee that the savings an apartment owner captures from the tax exemption are passed down to the renter. If Seminole continued offering the tax breaks, it could feasibly lose an estimated $4 million a year in tax revenue, Property Appraiser David Johnson told commissioners.

Johnson put it plainly: "The Live Local Act is well intentioned. But the problem is it doesn't have a requirement to push that 75% reduction back to the renters that are occupying the units."

Commissioner Amy Lockhart pushed back on any suggestion that the board was abandoning affordable housing as a priority. Lockhart wanted to strongly clarify that the change does not affect the county's efforts to build more affordable housing for low-income households. "We have lots of incentives and lots of things in our county to try to incentivize affordable housing. This isn't that," she said.

Commissioner Lee Constantine was more direct: "It's helping developers and apartment owners make more money. But it's not doing anything for the renters and those struggling to pay their rent," he said of the property tax exemptions under the Live Local Act. Commission Chair Jay Zembower echoed that concern, warning that "when that revenue stream does not come to the county, those are services that are going to be picked up by the rest of the taxpayers."

Only three apartment complexes already awarded these tax exemptions were grandfathered in, as long as they keep up with requirements including renewing their Multifamily Middle Market Certification notices annually. Those projects are Integra Crossing, Vue on Lake Monroe, and Watervue Apartments. Those three developments received a combined tax deduction of $371,367 after listing 366 units as affordable housing.

Seminole's vote was part of a swift regional pushback. Lake County adopted a resolution to opt out on July 9, and the City of Winter Park in Orange County followed on July 10, with commissioners there voting unanimously to deny the exemptions. In Volusia County, DeBary City Manager Carmen Rosamonda raised a separate set of concerns, warning that the Live Local Act could complicate existing planned development contracts, density planning, and infrastructure financing.

The broader tug of war over the opt-out provision continues at the state level. The latest legislative update changes the eligibility threshold for cities and counties to opt out, with a 2027 rule requiring jurisdictions to show a surplus of available rental units for three consecutive years, rather than just one, before blocking the exemption. The 2025 Shimberg Center for Housing Studies report moved the Orlando metro area into a deficit, showing a shortfall of 1,945 available rental homes for people earning up to 120% of area median income, a finding that may complicate how long Central Florida governments can sustain their opt-out positions going forward.