Live Local 4.0 – An Update on House Bill 1389 Passed During 2026 Legislative Session

On Friday, March 13, the Senate passed House Bill 1389 filed by Representative Redondo (Senate companion Senate Bill 1548 filed by Senator Calatayud), which represents the Legislature’s latest effort to fine tune the Live Local Act and address other issues relating to affordable housing. The legislation is now available to be sent to the Governor for his signature.

The original version of the Live Local Act, passed during the 2023 Legislative Session, represented a landmark shift in Florida’s approach to affordable and workforce housing development. It has been described as the most aggressive state-level housing reform effort in the nation. As we detailed in our initial analysis, Senate Bill 102 (2023) introduced groundbreaking incentives for affordable and workforce housing development, including preemptions against certain local government regulations.

The Act underwent significant amendments during the 2024 Legislative Session in Senate Bill 328 summarized here, and again during the 2025 Legislative Session in Senate Bill 1730. These amendments refined several provisions and addressed concerns raised by local governments and stakeholders during the initial implementation phase of the Live Local Act. However, for the development industry, the amendments were a mixed-bag of both positive and negative changes.

House Bill 1389 is the Legislature’s fourth iteration dealing with the Live Local Act. Key provisions that make up Live Local 4.0 include the following:

• Religious Lands – Expands the Live Local Act to allow proposed developments on religious lands regardless of the underlying zoning, if such property is larger than 3 acres, has contained a “house of public worship” for at least 10 years, and continues to operate as a house of public worship after the proposed development is constructed.
• County, City, and School District Lands – Expands the Live Local Act to allow proposed developments on property owned by a county, municipality, or school district, if such property is within the geographical jurisdiction of the local government, and the local government is a party to the development application.
• Florida Fair Housing Act – Amends the Florida Fair Housing Act and effectively overrides a recent 4th DCA decision by expressly waiving sovereign immunity for local governments allowing for affordable housing developers to bring suit for a violation under the act.
• Revisions to Live Local Opt-Out – Amends the Live Local opt-out provision in § 196.1978, Fla. Stat., in two ways:
  • Shimberg Data – Local governments may only enact an opt-out ordinance or resolution if a housing surplus is demonstrated in the Shimberg Study for the previous three years.
  • Building Permit Grandfathering – Live Local projects will still be eligible to apply for exemptions from ad valorem taxes regardless of whether a local government “opts-out” if the project applies for the exemption within four years of obtaining a building permit for the project.
• Setback and Stepback Requirements – Prohibits local governments from restricting the height of proposed Live Local projects through setback or stepback requirements that are more restrictive than the minimum permitted in the proposed development.
• Farm and Farm Operations – Specifies that farm and farm operations are not commercial or industrial uses as defined under the Live Local Act. The changes to this section are intended to be remedial and clarifying in nature and apply retroactively to January 1, 2024.
• Airports – Allows for Live Local projects to be near airports if the governing body of the airport approves the application.
• Live Local Projects on Multiple Parcels – Allows for multifamily or mixed-use residential developments on parcels under common ownership or control separated by no more than 15 feet of land and limited to public pedestrian access.
• Areas Now Exempted From Live Local – Expands areas that are now exempted from the preemptions in the Live Local Act. Those include:
  • Areas of state critical concern;
  • Portions of property encumbered by a recorded conservation easement;
  • Areas intended to retain the “open character of land,” and include zoning districts such as open space districts or open use estate districts.
• Grandfathering of Applications – Applicants have the option to proceed under the 2025 Live Local Act or the 2026 Live Local Act so long as the application, written request, or notice of intent was submitted and received by the local government prior to the effective date of the 2026 Live Local Act.
• Veterans Housing Density Bonus – Amends § 420.615, Fla. Stat., relating to Affordable housing land donation density bonus incentives to include housing that is affordable for military families receiving the basic allowance for housing.

Due to the statewide impact of this legislation, our Government Affairs and Affordable Housing Practice Groups will be monitoring how the Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC) and local governments are implementing these new provisions.