Orange County Appeals in Rent Control Fight

Orange County (Orlando area) has gone to the Florida Supreme Court after an appeals court ruled last month that the industry group Florida Realtors and the Florida Apartment Association can seek attorney fees from the county after a battle about a rent-control measure.

Orange County filed a notice last week that is a first step in asking the Supreme Court to take up the issue, according to documents posted Tuesday on the Supreme Court website. The Realtors and apartment groups filed a lawsuit in 2022 after the Orange County Commission adopted an ordinance that moved forward with the rent-control proposal. The lawsuit cited a state law designed to prevent rent controls and said Orange County had not met requirements for an exception to the law.

A court eventually issued a temporary injunction against the rent-control proposal, and the Legislature later made a change that eliminated the exception to the law. As a result, a circuit judge dismissed the lawsuit as moot. But a three-judge panel of the 6th District Court of Appeal on June 13 said the case should not have been dismissed because the groups could seek payment of their attorney fees.