Tenant groups file last-minute brief in support of Orange rent control ordinance

Two nonprofit groups representing working-class, rent-burdened tenants in Orange County filed a last-minute brief late Wednesday, hoping to persuade a judge to let voters decide whether to adopt a proposed ordinance limiting rent increases for a year.

Filed electronically about midnight, the 35-page brief by lawyers for Florida Rising and Central Florida Jobs with Justice blamed “profiteering” landlords for the county’s housing emergency that has forced many families to choose between paying rent or buying groceries.