Miami Beach Commissioner Monica Matteo-Salinas will host a public town hall focused on affordable housing on Sept. 15 at City Hall.

The two-hour forum runs from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Commission Chambers on the third floor at 1700 Convention Center Drive. A Zoom option is available for residents who cannot attend in person.

The city said the event will focus on the current state of affordable housing in Miami Beach, according to the city's events calendar.

Renters Face Mounting Pressure on Housing Costs

The town hall comes as Miami Beach faces mounting pressure on housing costs. A renter in the Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall metro area would need to earn $46.85 an hour to afford a standard two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent. That figure comes from the National Low Income Housing Coalition's 2026 Out of Reach report and is more than three times Florida's $14 minimum wage.

Miami Ranked Least Affordable City in Study

The numbers are stark. Miami ranked 182nd out of 182 U.S. cities in a May 2026 WalletHub rental affordability study that measured median rent against median household income. Zillow data cited in August 2026 coverage put the city's average rent at roughly $3,100 a month against a median household income near $62,000 a year.

The city's population has dropped from a peak of 92,000 in 1990 to under 82,000, driven in part by high rents and a lack of new non-luxury housing, Commissioner David Suarez told the Miami Herald.

Other City Actions Target Affordable Housing

Matteo-Salinas' forum is one of several housing-related actions on the city's calendar. A Feb. 5 City Commission agenda item called for referring a proposed 12-month Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing Pilot Program in North Beach, capped at $100,000, to the Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee for development. Commissioners also voted 8-0 on July 24 to defer the transfer of a 34-unit senior affordable housing building at 530 Meridian Ave. to Miami-Dade County until Oct. 14, amid a dispute over county oversight, according to the Miami Beach Journal.

Advisory Committee Meets Later in September

The city's Affordable Housing Advisory Committee meets separately on Sept. 22 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Mayor's Conference Room on the fourth floor of City Hall. That meeting is also available by Zoom.

Residents can attend the Sept. 15 town hall in person or join remotely through the Zoom link on the city's events page.