Chinese citizens in Florida sue state over property ownership ban
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Protesters in Miami opposed the bill restricting Chinese nationals from buying property in Florida. Photo: Courtesy of Hongwei Shang
A group of Chinese citizens who live in Florida are suing to stop a new property law from taking effect July 1 on grounds that it's discriminatory.
Driving the news: The plaintiffs — four individuals and a Central Florida real estate firm, Multi-Choice Realty LLC — argued in a federal lawsuit filed Monday that legislation restricting people from China from buying property in the state is unconstitutional and violates the Fair Housing Act, Axios' Rebecca Falconer reports.
- The law, SB 264, prohibits people whose "domicile" is in China and who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents from purchasing property in Florida. It also requires they register property they already own.
- Plus, it restricts citizens of six other countries — Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela and Syria — from buying agricultural land or property within 10 miles of a military installation, seaport or airport.
Of note: One of the plaintiffs, Xinxi Wang, is a doctoral student on an F-1 student visa who owns a home in Miami. Wang would be required to register it, which the complaint calls "burdensome, discriminatory, and stigmatizing."
- Other plaintiffs include a professor, a property manager and a dietitian, all of whom are on visas and could be forced to cancel pending home purchases and potentially lose deposits of $25,000 - $31,250.
Context: Gov. DeSantis said when he signed the bill that he was protecting against the threat of China's ruling Communist Party.
- Legislators around the country have fears of Chinese nationals buying land for spying or to threaten America's food supply and have proposed similar laws.
- Critics have argued the threat is overblown. Chinese owners held about 350,000 acres of U.S. farmland at the end of 2022, most of that from an acquisition of Virginia-based Smithfield Foods in 2013, per the New York Times.
Zoom in: In April, China topped the list of countries where people are searching MiamiRealtors.com, the organization announced yesterday, accounting for 9.44% of all international searches.
- The group's chairman, Ines Hegedus-Garcia, called for a direct Miami-to-Asia flight in the announcement, saying it "would be a boon for both regions."
- Nationwide, buyers from China made up 6% of sales of residential property to foreign buyers in 2022, spending $6.1 billion, according to the National Association of Realtors.
What they're saying: The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, which is representing the plaintiffs along with the ACLU, said in a statement that the restrictions would "cast an undue burden of suspicion on anyone seeking to buy property whose name sounds remotely Asian, Russian, Iranian, Cuban, Venezuelan, or Syrian."
- DeSantis' office did not respond to Axios' request for comment.