KAVITA GUED:
00:00:10
Nice little porch area.
MARK STRASSMANN:
00:00:12
Like any renter here, Kevida Gued knows Tampa is a landlord's market. But the single mother of three's family needs an affordable three bedroom, and fast. Their lease is up July 31. And how many places have you looked at?
KAVITA GUED:
00:00:28
Over 50.
MARK STRASSMANN:
00:00:29
50 places.
KAVITA GUED:
00:00:30
Over 50 places, and I've reached out to over 200. All over Tampa Bay, all over the state of Florida.
MARK STRASSMANN:
00:00:36
On average, Tampa's rents ballooned 22% last year.
VALERIE BANNON:
00:00:40
Father God, what am I going to do?
MARK STRASSMANN:
00:00:42
Valerie Benin's landlord in Saint Petersburg hiked her rent nearly 60%, to $2,400 a month for this modest four bedroom. Without options, legally blind, earning under $20,000 a year, this overnight auditor moved her family into a hotel, the bill paid by a charity.
VALERIE BANNON:
00:01:02
To me, it's no different from a hurricane or something disrupting your household and taking your home away, and you're being homeless, not having anywhere to go, not knowing what to do.
MARK STRASSMANN:
00:01:13
Fueling that hurricane here, thousands of pandemic relocations, inflation, rising interest rates discouraging buyers, and few tenant protections. Tampa recently put $5 million toward rental assistance, money gone in two days. Erika Belezerian could be, too. This PR account exec's rent will jump $530 beyond her budget.
ERIKA BELEZERIAN:
00:01:39
If I want to pay less, which is my goal, I will need to move 30 to 40 minutes outside of this neighborhood.
MARK STRASSMANN:
00:01:47
30 to 40 minutes. Yes.
KAVITA GUED:
00:01:49
Very clean, spacious.
MARK STRASSMANN:
00:01:51
Gued keeps looking, calling, emailing. Everything's expensive. This home's deal breaker? The pond, she says, a danger for her autistic son.
KAVITA GUED:
00:02:01
You hear somebody talking about it. But until you experience something firsthand, then it really doesn't fully resonate or hit you.
MARK STRASSMANN:
00:02:09
A rental crisis that hits home every day for families like hers. Mark Strassmann, CBS News, Tampa.
