FINDING AFFORDABLE RENTALS
BECOMES EASIER

Sarasota, FL: An innovative new website is now available to search for affordable rental units throughout Sarasota County quickly and easily. The user friendly site, rentals.sarasotagov.com, was launched by the Sarasota Office of Housing and Community Development to help residents locate affordable housing units in a fast, stress-free manner. “This is a quick and simple way to locate affordable rental units,” said Don Hadsell, Director of the Sarasota Office of Housing and Community Development. “Our hope is that people will discover this is an important resource for finding affordable housing.”

Currently, 161 landlords have listed 327 units throughout Sarasota County on the website. Potential renters can search a variety of amenities including location, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, price range, and Section 8 availability. The listings offer photographs of the unit, a map, and whether the unit is pet friendly or income restricted. The service is also available in Spanish. The website is already receiving about one thousand hits per week without it being officially unveiled.

The service is free to renters and landlords. The Sarasota City Commission allocated $6,000 to help pay for the website.

To be considered affordable housing, a rental unit must be 140% of the HUD fair market rent. In Sarasota, that works out to be approximately:

• 1 Bedroom = $1,000/month
• 2 Bedroom = $1,200/month
• 3 Bedroom = $1,500/month

For residents who do not have access to the internet or would prefer to talk to someone, a toll free number is available: 1-877-428-8824. Landlords interested in listing a property can call the same telephone number or register at rentals.sarasotagov.com.

View A PSA About Rentals.sarasotagov.com

For more information, please contact Don Hadsell: 941-951-3640 ext. 3778.

 

For more information, please contact:
Jan Thornburg, Public Information Officer (941) 954-2613
jan.thornburg@sarasotagov.com