Something is fundamentally broken when a family can spend 15, 20, even 30 years paying off their mortgage, responsibly building equity, raising children, contributing to their community, and finally reaching a stage where it’s time to downsize—or move closer to work, or find a neighborhood that better fits their needs—only to discover that doing so unleashes a financial punishment so severe that many simply can’t afford to move at all.
That is the quiet crisis facing Florida homeowners today.
And it’s the direct result of a flaw in our property-tax system that penalizes life changes instead of supporting them.
At the center of that crisis is one solvable issue: the cap on portability of the Save Our Homes benefit for non-school property taxes—a bureaucratic wrinkle that serves no meaningful public purpose while trapping families inside their own homes and artificially distorting the housing market.
HJR 211—Sponsored by Representative Toby Overdorf—finally fixes that.
HJR 211 removes the portability cap for non-school property taxes, allowing Floridians to transfer the full benefit they’ve earned through years of responsible homeownership—without facing massive tax hikes that can destroy a family budget overnight.
This is not a partisan issue.
It’s a fairness issue.
It’s a quality-of-life issue.
And it’s a freedom-of-movement issue.
The Problem: A System Designed to Punish Stability
Since 1995, Florida’s Save Our Homes amendment has protected Floridians by limiting annual increases in assessed value on homesteaded property to 3% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. This protection has allowed millions of homeowners—especially retirees, working families, and long-time residents—to stay in their homes even as market values skyrocketed year after year.
But when a homeowner moves, that stability disappears.
A home that has been taxed based on decades-old valuations is suddenly reassessed at full market value, often resulting in tax increases of thousands of dollars per year.
That is the phenomenon commonly known as “tax shock.”
Florida attempted to solve this problem in 2008 by allowing homeowners to transfer up to $500,000 in accrued Save Our Homes benefit when relocating. It helped—but only partially. The current system still allows counties to levy dramatically higher non-school property-tax millage when someone moves, effectively bypassing the savings homeowners thought they were guaranteed.
The result?
Families feel trapped in their own homes, unable to move without risking financial devastation.
- Seniors who want to downsize or move closer to grandchildren stay where they are—not because they want to, but because they can’t afford to leave.
- Empty-nest couples continue living in large homes they no longer need, worsening housing availability for younger families trying to buy.
- Workers turn down job opportunities because relocating comes with a massive tax penalty.
- Floridians living in disaster-impacted areas are stuck instead of being able to rebuild their lives elsewhere.
- Families moving from modest homes to even more modest ones are shocked to discover their taxes go up, not down.
When a tax structure traps citizens in place, that structure serves the government—not the people.
The Solution in HJR 211
HJR 211 is as simple as it is powerful:
What HJR 211 Does
- Removes the portability cap on non-school property taxes, allowing homeowners to transfer their full Save Our Homes benefit anywhere in the state.
- Eliminates tax shock for Florida families who need or want to move.
- Protects school funding while limiting runaway growth in local millage rates.
- Provides predictability and transparency, restoring trust between residents and local government.
In plain English:
You shouldn’t be punished for relocating, downsizing, or making reasonable decisions for your family.
You paid into the system.
You followed the rules.
You should keep what you earned.
And for counties worried about funding: school property taxes remain intact, and nothing in this bill cuts vital public-safety funding. In fact, HJR 211 ensures that sheriffs, firefighters, and emergency services stay protected—where they belong—by focusing reform only on non-school millage growth, the portion most often abused for unnecessary revenue expansion and back-door tax increases.
This is responsible, balanced reform—prioritizing family stability without sacrificing community safety.
The Real-World Impact
79% of Florida homeowners say that rising property taxes are affecting their long-term housing decisions.
That’s not political theory. That’s lived reality.
42% of Florida seniors report delaying downsizing specifically due to property-tax penalties.
That means tens of thousands of homes that should be entering the real-estate market simply aren’t.
Florida has experienced more than 60% growth in average home values over the past decade.
But incomes and budgets haven’t grown at the same pace.
More than 1 in 4 homeowners who moved in the last two years faced property-tax increases over 35% despite moving into less expensive homes.
That is the definition of a broken system.
Meanwhile, local non-school millage rates have quietly increased across the state, often justified as “small adjustments” that, over time, accumulate into huge burdens. HJR 211 helps slow that tax creep by putting the power back where it belongs—with the homeowner, not the bureaucracy.
Who Benefits Most from HJR 211
Senior Citizens
Seniors who need less space, less yard, or more support shouldn’t be financially punished for wanting to live with dignity. Thousands remain in large homes—not by choice, but by fear of tax shock. HJR 211 restores mobility and economic freedom.
Young and Growing Families
Families who need more space, better schools, or safer neighborhoods shouldn’t face huge tax spikes while trying to provide stability for their children.
Workers and Veterans
Anyone relocating for employment, military transition, or retirement deserves consistency, not punishment for serving their state or country.
Floridians Impacted by Hurricanes and Disasters
When a storm destroys your home, you shouldn’t be forced to choose between rebuilding a life or going broke.
Communities Struggling with Housing Shortages
Real estate only works when movement is possible. HJR 211 unlocks the housing market by freeing trapped inventory and stabilizing prices.
The Bigger Picture: Predictability, Transparency, and Trust
Government should never rely on unpredictability or confusion as a revenue strategy. Yet that is exactly what’s happening now.
When homeowners feel blindsided by taxes, they lose trust.
When they lose trust, they disengage.
When they disengage, accountability disappears.
A healthy democracy depends on transparency.
A healthy economy depends on predictability.
A healthy community depends on fairness.
HJR 211 reinforces all three.
It ensures that when families plan their budget, they can rely on the rules staying consistent—not shifting based on political whims or revenue desperation.
It provides a check on aggressive non-school millage increases while preserving essential services like law enforcement, fire rescue, and emergency operations.
It removes an unnecessary and punitive cap that serves no real purpose except to pad local revenue on the backs of families who are trying to do the right thing.
What This Reform Means for Florida’s Future
The strength of Florida has always been rooted in freedom and opportunity. People come here because they believe in the promise of a state that respects individual responsibility, rewards effort, and refuses to punish success.
But when a system forces families to remain stuck in place, not because they want to be but because they can’t afford not to be, something has gone seriously wrong.
The true test of good policy is simple:
Does it improve the lives of everyday people?
Does it expand opportunity instead of shrinking it?
Does it strengthen families instead of weakening them?
HJR 211 passes that test.
It recognizes that life changes—marriage, children, retirement, relocation—and the tax structure should not punish people for adapting.
It recognizes that stability matters, and predictability matters, and financial security matters.
It recognizes that a government should never be funded by trapping people in place.
A Call to Florida’s Leaders and Citizens
Floridians are watching closely. They are tired of being squeezed.
They are tired of broken promises and rising costs dressed up as progress.
They are demanding:
- Real transparency
- Real predictability
- Real fairness
- Real protection against runaway taxation
HJR 211 is a meaningful step toward restoring confidence in the system and defending homeowners from a structure that has long been tilted against them.
It empowers families instead of government.
It supports mobility instead of stagnation.
It strengthens communities instead of weakening them.
And it does so responsibly, thoughtfully, and with care for the services that keep our communities safe.
Representative Toby Overdorf deserves enormous credit for leading this charge.
And Floridians deserve a Legislature ready to stand with them.
A Reform Whose Time Has Come
No Floridian should ever feel trapped in their home because of government policy.
No homeowner should face massive tax shock for doing something as ordinary and human as moving closer to family, searching for better schools, changing careers, or downsizing for retirement.
HJR 211 restores fairness and protects the very people who have built their lives, families, and futures in our communities.
It’s a win for homeowners.
It’s a win for seniors.
It’s a win for working families.
It’s a win for Florida’s housing market.
It’s a win for freedom of choice.
Most importantly, it keeps government in its proper place—serving the people, not exploiting them.
Florida families deserve better than fear-based decisions driven by unpredictable taxation.
They deserve stability.
They deserve transparency.
They deserve control over their own lives.
HJR 211 delivers exactly that.
And it’s time to get it done.
Add comment
Comments