St. Pete Sent Packing

Marley A. Burke

Arizona State University

Eng 102- 35075

Professor Sharese Willis

04-06-2022

St. Pete Sent Packing

It is no secret that we are seeing inflation in many areas across the country. So if you feel as though your wallet is getting lighter, you are definitely not alone! It’s hard to save any money when the prices for so many essential aspects of life are rising tremendously. One area this issue occurs particularly heavily in is rent. This holds especially true in the city of Saint Petersburg, Florida, where rent prices have risen nearly 25% over the last year. Rent in St. Pete, Florida is rising with an intensity that is putting many local residents at risk. This pressing issue is becoming impossible to ignore, and is causing irreparable damage to many people in our communities just like you and me.

Figure 1

A protest being held by the St. Pete Tenants Union.

If I’m being honest, the subject of the rent hike in St. Pete gets me particularly fired up, as I am someone who has been impacted by it. Two years ago, I moved to the area and my rent was $800. That is a considerably low price for rent even at that time, not taking into account the cost of utilities, and the lack of amenities offered in my place of residence. My dishwasher, washing machine, and drying machine are all broken, and the built-in microwave above my broken stove is also broken. While renewing my lease around a month ago I was made aware that my rent would be increased from the $800 a month that I was paying to $1000 a month, yet no offers of repairing any of the appliances that have an impact on everyday living. So where does that leave me? Out of another $200 with a house full of broken appliances. As unfortunate as this is for me, the severity at which this impacts so many Saint Petersburg residents is so much worse than the experience I happen to be having. Many low-income residents are facing several issues such as unstable housing and homelessness. According to an article by Daniel Figueroa, Tonight we vote with our feet, “... a study conducted by graduate students from the Harvard Kennedy School found nearly half of St. Pete renters are cost burdened. It also found about 69% of renters who make 50% or less than the area median income spend more than half that income on rent.” (Figueroa, 2022). Many are struggling to save money when the cost of housing is so high that they are offering over half of their paychecks on rent. This puts hundreds of people in a very unfortunate position where their cost of living is suddenly and unexpectedly significantly increasing, and costing over half of their income, leaving them with less money for things such as groceries, medications, and other necessities.

According to recent statistics on poverty from the ACS 5-Year estimate, “The poverty rate in St. Petersburg is 15.9%,” (WelfareInfo, 2019). Nearly 16% of Saint Petersburg residents are below the poverty line. Taking into consideration that there are around 20,500 people in St. Pete, that means that one out of six people in our community are impacted by poverty. Previously the poverty rate in the area was on a steady decline until 2016, which has been steadily rising by 8% ever since. As the rate in the city increased, both the poverty rate for the state of Florida and for the United States continued to decline. As you can see below in figure 2, St. Pete poverty levels start to skyrocket again in 2016, while Florida and the rest of the United States poverty levels continue on their steady decline.

Figure 2

A graph of poverty rate history in Saint Petersburg, Florida, and the United States.

This ongoing rent crisis is driving out locals, which hurts our community in so many ways. Not only does this hinder the lives of renters, and homeowners, but also local shops and businesses. Many small businesses in the area have had to close down, or move locations due to the astronomical rent prices. In the article, Priced out: City of St. Pete stepping in to help, author Sarah Hollenbeck explains that going out of business due to rent increases is very common in the area, “Another St. Pete business recently announced they'll soon close their doors for good. Rent prices in the downtown area are skyrocketing as St. Petersburg grows,” (Hollenbeck, 2022). If this continues, eventually every small local business will be forced out due to the persisting rent hike.

The way businesses are impacted is no small issue, however, the more local citizens are forced out, the less of a community there will be to support these small businesses in the first place. In hopes of grasping an understanding of the effects of the rent crisis on people in my immediate community, I compiled a list of five multiple choice questions in a survey that I sent to several friends, coworkers, and other peers of varying ages who have been impacted by Saint Petersburg’s rent hikes in some aspect. The questions I have asked are pictured in the image below. I tried to form questions that were thoughtful and would gain insight on the sacrifices made due to the rent crisis.

Figure 3

List of questions compiled into a survey about the rent crisis.

The results from my survey tell a sad tale of citizens who are scared for their futures. When asked if they were impacted positively or negatively by the rent crisis, participants in the survey answered with a resounding negative. 100% of people answered that they have been negatively impacted by the issue. Additionally, 100% of people also answered that they have had to make sacrifices due to the rent hike. This is deeply saddening information that unfortunately doesn’t come as a surprise. After being asked if they felt more, equally, or less impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic versus the rent crisis, 55.7% of people said more while the remaining 44.4% said they felt equally affected by the two issues.

Figure 4

The bar graph results from the first two questions in my survey.

Another question I asked in the survey was the level of changes people feel they have had to make due to the ongoing crisis. 11.1% of people selected that they have had to make few changes at the hand of the rent hikes while 33.3% said they have made few changes, and the remaining 55.6% of people felt they have had to make significant changes due to the crisis. When asked about their course of action for if they could no longer afford rent in the area 66.7% of people said they don’t know what they would do, and 33.3% said they know what they would do but that it wouldn’t be a healthy living situation for them.

Figure 5

Bar graph of the results of whether people felt more impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic or the rent crisis.

Figure 6

Bar graph results of the level of changes people feel they had to make due to the rent crisis.

The Sunshine City has been feeling gloomy as of late. The housing crisis is putting many people in jeopardy of losing crucial aspects of their lives, and harming the stability in their lives. There is something glaringly wrong when so many people are spending over half of their income on rent, and when poverty rates in our city rise while the rate of the rest of the country declines. St. Pete residents are feeling scared and as though they have no plan b, and have made many sacrifices to continue having a roof over their head. We cannot continue to ignore the rent crisis as it harms our people. Saint Petersburg is such a beautiful city filled with culture, art, and history. It is such a shame to watch so many essential pieces of the community be forced out.

References

Figueroa, D. (2022, February 19). Tonight we vote with our feet: St. Pete residents plan civil disobedience in response to housing crisis. Florida Politics, https://floridapolitics.com/archives/498523-tonight-we-vote-with-our-feet-st-pete-residents-plan-civil-disobedience-in-response-to-housing-crisis/

Hollenbeck, S. (2021, December 14). St. Pete rent climbs 24%, some say recent city action not doing enough. WFTS. Retrieved March 20, 2020, from https://www.abcactionnews .com/news/region-south-pinellas/st-petersburg/st-pete-rent-climbs-24-some-say-recent-city-not-doing-enough

Staff (2009). Poverty in St. Petersburg, Florida. Welfareinfo.org. Retrieved March 29, 2022, from https://www.welfareinfo.org/poverty-rate/florida/st-petersburg

Wright, C. (2021, December 18). Could St. Petersburg actually halt rent increases for one year. Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved April 1, 2022, from https://www.tampabay.com/news/st-petersburg/2021/12/16/st-petersburg-city-council-votes-6-1-to-explore-rent-stabilization/