Florida’s latest controversy yet again comes thanks to the state’s Republican Party, which is currently embroiled in a battle over housing in the Sunshine State. Specifically, Florida is attempting to block Chinese citizens from purchasing homes in the state, citing national security concerns.
This block comes courtesy of a law signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in 2023. The law stated that allowing Chinese citizens to continue purchasing properties in Florida was creating a threat to national security. Numerous other states have followed Florida’s lead, with more than 100 bills at various levels being passed or proposed to limit foreign purchases of homes.
While DeSantis and others have maintained that this law is necessary to preserve national security, opponents have decried it as discriminatory and unconstitutional. The law’s enforcement is currently being halted as a fight in Florida’s courts over its legality continues.
What does Florida’s Chinese housing law entail?
The law, Florida SB 264, was signed by DeSantis in May 2023. The text of the bill prohibits people who are “domiciled” in China but do not have U.S. citizenship from “purchasing or acquiring any interest in real property in the state.” The lone exception in the bill is for Chinese holders of non-tourist visas, who may purchase “one residential property that is not on or within five miles of any military installation in the state.” Violators of the law can face up to a year in prison.
In addition, Florida’s law also carves out blocks for most citizens of Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria and Venezuela. Under SB 264, most citizens of these countries are prevented from “owning or acquiring any interest in real property within 10 miles of any military installation or critical infrastructure in the state.” Critical infrastructure in this case refers to locations like airports, refineries and power plants.
SB 264 is part of a “commitment to crack down on Communist China,” DeSantis said in a statement during the bill’s signing.
What has the reaction to Florida’s law been?
Controversy has stemmed over the true purpose of SB 264 — whether it is keeping Floridians safe or being discriminatory toward Chinese people. Many of these Florida residents have “voiced frustrations about being cut off from the ultimate American dream,” The New York Times said.
“Every day I am getting phone calls from people asking if they can buy a house under the law,” Yukey Hoo, a real estate agent near Orlando, said to the Times. Hoo has had to turn away about a fifth of her normal business because she was unsure if they could legally purchase a home, the Times reported.
Others, however, argue that the law is not meant to be discriminatory but rather to protect national security interests. China “has been clandestinely going after land grabs in the United States,” Florida State Rep. David Borrero (R) said to the Times, and “we can’t just have that in our backyard. Our national security interests come first.” This is despite there being “little evidence of a credible threat considering Chinese interests currently own a miniscule amount of U.S. territory,” said Politico.
Amid the controversy, civil rights groups and organizations such as the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are suing Florida over the law. Florida’s 11th Circuit Court has temporarily blocked the law’s enforcement while a series of appeals are heard. The ACLU has argued that SB 264 is “preempted by federal law because Congress has already established a system of national security review of real estate purchases by foreign nationals.”
What other states have made similar efforts?
At least “151 bills restricting property ownership by foreign entities have been considered by 32 states” in 2024, according to the China-U.S. relations organization Committee of 100. Of these 151 bills, 78 would “prohibit Chinese citizens from purchasing or owning property,” similar to Florida’s SB 264.
Seven of these bills have been passed, including legislation in Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, South Dakota and Utah, plus two in Nebraska, said the Committee. Three of these, Indiana’s HB 1183, Nebraska’s LB 1301 and South Dakota’s HB 1231 “prohibit Chinese citizens from purchasing or owning some form of property.”
Overall, since 2023, the year when DeSantis signed SB 264, at least “241 bills restricting property ownership by foreign entities have been considered by 39 states.”