The Live Local Act's fourth iteration (HB 1389) expands entitlements to transit-adjacent parcels statewide. 55,000 units proposed. 6,316 units in construction. The pipeline is real.
Florida's Live Local Act — signed into law in March 2023 as SB 102 — was the most aggressive state-level housing policy in the country at the time of passage. The law preempted local zoning for multifamily developments on commercially zoned land, provided that at least 40% of units were set aside as affordable (defined as at or below 120% of area median income). The result was immediate: developers began acquiring commercially zoned parcels that had never been underwritten for residential use, and municipalities found themselves unable to block projects that met the statute's requirements.
The law has now been updated three times. The most significant update is HB 1389, signed in March 2026, which expands eligibility to include transit-adjacent parcels — defined as within one-half mile of a transit station or one-quarter mile of a transit stop. The bill also clarifies that mixed-use projects qualify, that parking requirements cannot exceed municipal minimums, and that Live Local projects are eligible for expedited permitting. The effective date is July 1, 2026.
The pipeline is no longer theoretical. As of March 2026, 182 Live Local Act projects have been proposed statewide, encompassing approximately 55,000 units. Of those, 14 projects totaling 6,316 units are under construction. The top five counties by project count are Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, Broward, Palm Beach, and Orange. In South Florida specifically, Yardi Matrix reports 5,427 Fully Affordable multifamily units under construction as of January 2026, with 3,515 scheduled to deliver in 2026 — the highest annual completion count since 2024's 3,625 units.
The commercial underwriting implications are significant. Any commercially zoned parcel in Florida — particularly those near transit — must now be evaluated for Live Local eligibility, because the highest-and-best-use analysis has structurally changed. A retail strip center on a commercially zoned parcel near a transit stop may now be worth more as a Live Local multifamily development site than as a retail operating asset. This repricing is already occurring in South Florida, where developers have been acquiring aging retail and office properties specifically for Live Local conversions.
The rent data supports the demand thesis. South Florida workforce-tier rents rose sharply in Q1 2026: +13% year-over-year in the Workforce-Upper segment and +9.7% in Workforce-Lower per MIAMI REALTORS®. These rent increases — occurring in the segment that Live Local targets — confirm that demand for affordable and workforce housing in South Florida is not being met by existing supply, and that the Live Local pipeline will be absorbed as it delivers.
Every commercial real estate decision in Florida — acquisition, repositioning, disposition — should now be evaluated against Live Local eligibility, because the state has structurally altered what commercially zoned land is worth. HB 1389's July 1, 2026 effective date will extend the eligibility envelope further. Owners who have not run the analysis on their own assets should.