(1) A substantial number of housing units in this state are in deteriorating condition, many residents are living in dwelling units which do not conform to applicable local codes and ordinances that are intended to ensure the health and safety of the occupants, and this condition impedes the development and conservation of healthy, safe, and viable communities in this state.

(2) Deteriorating housing contributes to the decline of neighborhoods and the surrounding areas, causes a reduction of the value of property comprising the tax base of local communities, and eventually requires the expenditures of disproportionate amounts of public funds for health, social services, and police protection to prevent the development of slums and the social and economic disruption found in slum communities.

(3) The rehabilitation of suitable housing will increase its economic life, is more economical and less disruptive than replacement of the housing and the relocation of its occupants, can better promote community development when conducted through organized housing rehabilitation programs, and is essential to promote sound community development in this state.

(4) The rehabilitation of housing will result in the conservation of energy and environmental resources through the installation of insulation and through discouraging the inefficient use of energy and environmental resources caused by low-density sprawl in undeveloped areas.

(5) Unless the problems of deteriorating housing and the accompanying problems associated with the decline of neighborhoods and surrounding areas and the loss of valuable property from the tax base are addressed, the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the affected communities and of this state will be detrimentally affected.

(6) The amount of public resources currently available or likely to be available for the rehabilitation and maintenance of marginal or substandard residential units in this state is grossly inadequate.

(7) If significant progress is to be made in adequately reducing or eliminating substandard housing in this state, it is imperative that the resources of the private sector be urged to assist in the rehabilitation of housing.

(8) A partnership of state and local public agencies with the private sector to coordinate and optimize their respective resources is critical to any serious effort to conserve and protect the state’s increasingly valuable stock of existing housing.

(9) The neighborhood housing services program of the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation has proven itself to be a highly effective mechanism for rehabilitating housing and revitalizing declining neighborhoods by combining public resources with private resources.

(10) The creation, continuation, and expansion of neighborhood housing services programs among the municipalities and counties of this state will serve the interests of the citizens of this state.

History.—s. 2, ch. 79-259; s. 1, ch. 85-265.