RENT

After providing help for more than 17 months, Seminole County is closing its Emergency Rental Assistance Program.

With rent prices skyrocketing for many residents over the last year, a group of Democratic lawmakers met Tuesday to discuss possible solutions.

Good Vibes Theatre Co. is set to present its rendition of the rock musical "Rent" at Penguin Point Productions in the Oviedo Mall this August.

Democratic Sen. Randolph Bracy, who is running for U.S. House District 10, will host a roundtable discussion Friday with landlords and renters about skyrocketing rent costs amid Central Florida's housing crisis.

Commissioners in Orange County approved a new ordinance Tuesday that requires landlords to give written notice for rent hikes over a certain amount.

Orange County leaders are discussing a controversial plan to put government rent control in place.

Orange County’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program will stop accepting applicants Friday.

The Orange County board came out of Thursday’s special session with a consensus on a notice ordinance and tenants bill of rights — but agreed more research and further discussion needs to be had about a rent stabilization ordinance.

A report from outside consultants appointed by Orange County Commissioners, suggests that legislation to control rent prices locally may do more harm than good.

The Heart of Florida United Way recently said their 2-1-1 crisis hotline has seen an uptick in the number of working families that can’t keep up with their rent or mortgage payments.

As soaring rent prices continue to leave Cocoa residents with sticker shock, sometimes with little notice, city officials are now considering a proposal to give tenants more notice of a looming price hike.

WKMG-TV’s new show, “Getting Better with Kirstin O’Connor”, is back with an all-new episode centered around rising rent prices here in Central Florida.

Rent increases may have hit their peak, according to a new forecast from the Apartment Association of Greater Orlando.

Angel Ayala and his family have called a house in east Orlando their home for the last six years.

Lake County is offering assistance to eligible residents with past due mortgage payments, officials announced Tuesday.

As inflation numbers hit a 40-year high across the nation, rental rates for industrial and warehouse space are climbing faster in the Orlando metro area than other parts of the country.

If you are an Orlando Utilities Commission customer, be prepared to see an increase in your July energy bill.

One Orange County Commissioner is pushing for more rent control measures and hoping her proposal at Tuesday's county commission meeting will get some results for renters.

Orange County Commissioner Emily Bonilla said in a press conference Thursday that she wants Orange County to implement temporary rent control measures, but it is getting pushback before it is even presented.

Economic analysts call it the perfect storm for renters in Orlando and across the nation.

To qualify, you must live in the city limits of Orlando, you must have been impacted by COVID-19 financially. You also must be behind on rent or facing eviction because of late rent payments.

Orlando residents now have a new financial lifeline after the city's rental assistance program ran out of funds.

In his filmmaking debut, Lin-Manuel Miranda turns a small-scale musical by the creator of Rent into an inventive piece of cinematic biography.

The average rent in the market is up to $1,537 per month, according to Brian Alford, Director of Market Analytics in Florida.

Osceola County leaders are adding a courthouse liaison for the county's eviction and foreclosure diversion program as 1,643 evictions have already been filed with the court.

Seminole County is urging residents who are behind on rent or mortgage payments to seek assistance following the end of the Centers for Disease Control's moratorium on evictions.

The Orlando real estate market — which covers Orange, Osceola, Lake and Seminole counties — is seeing the highest rent hikes in history right now, according to market analysts' part of the CoStar group.

Some tenants face big demands from landlords for upfront rent and there is no legal limit.

Orange County leaders are working to get the word out about program.

For many people, the past year with COVID-19 has brought some form of financial hardship. Jobs have been cut, businesses have suffered, and for service industry workers, their hours have been slashed or their responsibilities scaled back.

"Rent" original cast members reflect on groundbreaking musical, celebrate its 25th anniversary In 1996, "Rent" changed the sound and face of the modern musical with its rock music, diverse cast and edgy subject. The show won four Tony Awards including Best Musical, as well as the Pulitzer Prize for drama. Vladimir Duthiers visited the East Village theater where it all began and spoke with original cast members Idina Menzel and Wilson Jermaine Heredia about why the show still resonates.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Orange County is ending its eviction diversion program in February, making way for a new emergency rental assistance, or the ERA, program to take over in March. “Since our COVID-19 eviction diversion program launched six months ago, we have provided more than $11.2. “As of about midday today, 3,571 different individuals or households had benefited from our existing eviction diversion program.”On Monday, Orange County launched a new emergency rental assistance program. The county is earmarking $20 million for people at 50% of the area median income and $10 million for people at 80% of the area median income. The Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association is offering housing clinics via telephone.

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – Lake County is opening an emergency rental assistance program and residents can apply starting Monday. People living in Lake County can preregister here. Applications will be accepted starting Monday through 11:59 p.m. on March 21. Those who preregister will be notified when the application portal opens. You must meet the following criteria to qualify:Primary residence must be in Lake County and applicants must be rentersRent must be past dueApplicants must have a documented financial hardship as a result of COVID-19Total household income for calendar year 2020 must be at or below 80% of the area median income for Lake County

Orlando City Council voted on plans to use $1.5 million of Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES, Act funds to provide rental assistance. The city will partner with United Way to implement the funds. Requests for rental assistance can be made through the Heart of Florida United Way website beginning Sept. 9 at 8 a.m. City employees will assist the United Way in administering and overseeing the program. Residents who are interested in applying for the Rental Assistance Program are encouraged to begin gathering all required documents needed to apply as soon as possible.

Florida United Way weighs in on housing crisis during coronavirus pandemicPublished: August 7, 2020, 10:22 amJeff Hayward, CEO of Heart of Florida United Way, describes the increase in people struggling and needing assistance during the coronavirus pandemic.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A proposal from Orange County District Five Commissioner Emily Bonilla to freeze rent prices did not pass a vote Tuesday and won’t move forward to a public hearing. Bonilla was asking the other members of the board to approve a special public hearing to take place on June 30, in order to get a rental increase freeze on the November ballot. A lot of people right now are paying their rent with credit cards,” Bonilla said ahead of the vote. The proposal failed to move forward to a special public hearing after a 5-2 vote. Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings voted against the proposal saying there wouldn’t be enough time to have lawyers look at the proposal and to get input from both sides.

Rent rates going up in Central FloridaPublished: November 19, 2019, 6:57 pmThe city of Oviedo is the most expensive place to rent a home in Central Florida, according to rental website RentCafe.com’s Florida October Rent Report.

Free-range chickens for rent Tired of those boring supermarket eggs in polystyrene cartons? Now you can enjoy fresh, delicious organic eggs from free-range chickens as local as your own backyard. Bill Geist meets the owners of the Rent-a-Coop chicken business in Potomac, Md.